The woman looks curiously at Roam.  "I'm Mega, and I read the bones around here.  The boys went out hunting earlier, so if we had a storm, no doubt we'd have tracks...  Keesh, Thelis, you see anyone out there earlier?  Or your argos pick up anything?"

Two of the men one table over shake their heads slightly and take drinks out of their tankards, though a third one is looking at Roam walking around the room.  Staring almost.

"Guess not," she says, furrowing her brow.  Mira looks visibly upset, and Mega gestures her over.  "I'm sure he must be somewhere."  Mega gets the attention of the half-dozen men sitting at the tables.  "Boys, go see if you can find this girl's brother.  Little brother I guess, right?  You look pretty worried," she says, addressing the last to Mira.  The men at the tables get up, some reluctantly, and file out of the tavern, scattering through the streets of the village.  That leaves the two people at the bar, and the bartender.  "They'll do what they can for you.  Now, why were you out there?"

Mira hesitates, but then starts to tell a story of how she was caught in a terrible storm, and was separated from Quill.  She was hurt, and by the time she'd woken up, he had been taken and there were tracks.

She did not, Roam notes, say anything about the time terror.

Mega purses her lips and nods.  "That's a sad, sad thing.  Let me send up a signal to one of the other little places around here; it's possible someone else saw something."  She waves to the man with the shaved head, and tells him to go to the signal tower.

Mega continues to speak with Mira in a low voice.  But as she does so, the young man at the bar, and the elderly barkeep, keep looking out the door or down at something behind the bar, respectively.

Roam notices the man staring and nods to the man.  As they others get up to search and signal the other settlement, Roam places a hand on Mira's arm. "Mira why don't we sit and have a drink.  Once there is a signal from the other settlement I'm sure we will hear something about the boy."

Roam signals to the bar man for two drinks and waits.  He keeps his eyes steady and watches the bambiraptor with his peripheral vision.  Roam swishes the drink a lot and raises it to his lips, but actually drinks very little.
"Mega, what was the function of this place?  Is it originally SATI or a break off from one of the cities?"

Roam starts to lean on the bar a little more, as if starting to feel the effects of the drink.

Mira looks reluctant to abandon any action that would take her away from searching for her brother, but Roam had helped her, and she couldn't do this on her own.  She sits gingerly at the table, eyes darting around the room.

Mega listens to Roam and gives a small shrug.  "It was a research outpost way back when, but I guess they either never found what they were looking for or this site wasn't what they needed.  There's not a whole lot going on here but hunting, brewing, and recording the weather.  We keep good records about the weather, tracking time anomalies and whatnot wherever we find them," she says.  "Fair amount you can do if you know a storm's coming and run the info down the line."

Mira stiffens a little as Mega is talking, and pinches Roam under the table.  "Jase!" she whispers.  She points under the table, and Roam can see she's pointing at the little bambiraptor snuffling in the hallway, now trying to quietly dig into a wall.  Jase, you recall now, was the name of her brother Quill's pet bambiraptor.

Roam shook his had slightly at Mira.
"So are you able to forecast the anomalies and predict them?  Did you know the anomaly this morning would show there?"
Roam scratched at his stubble.  He picked up his drink, swished it around then put it back down before pointing at Mega.  "I'm sure that would be worth a lot, if you could accurately predict the anomalies."

Mega waggles her hand slightly, showing uncertainty.  "It's an ongoing process.  Even after fifty years we're lucky to get a good probability and a compass quarter rather than a precise time and coordinates.  There was a good probably for one this morning; that's why the hunters were out there.  Figured they could go check the trap spots and see if our math was right at the same time.  They found one, so good on our algorithms this time!"

Mira is clearly trying not to squirm in her seat, wanting desperately to go to her brother's dinosaur, but still willing to listen to Roam's advice on this hunt.

Roam eased away from the bar, still swirling his drink.  His patience was starting to wear thin.  He couldn't help it, his inclination was to just start smashing heads and force his way through the door the bambiraptor was clawing at.
"Who was it that went out this morning?  Maybe we can ask them what they found.  Cut out the middleman." Roam placed his drink back on the bar and paced.  His eyes not wandering far from the seated men.

"Some of the guys who just left, and Ballad over there.  Hey, Ballad!  Come tell the newcomers what you saw out on patrol this morning, would you?"

Ballad, a skinny fellow with a shaved and tattooed scalp in mandala patterns, shifts over from the bar to drop his thin frame over a chair.  "About the usual to tell.  Took the four-wheeler out to Eastern Ridge, checked two traps, one blind spot, got a couple of 'sthruths for dinner, found evidence of a good big storm, and got an anomaly a couple clicks west of there.  Not too strong, but I picked up what I could," he says, rubbing his fingers over his opposite thumb.

Mira can't seem to stand it anymore, and pops out of her seat.  "So sorry, been on the go all day, bathroom?" she asks.  Mega jerks her thumb towards the doors at the back, and Mira scampers off.

"Dent, my argo, he behaved good the whole trip out, so that was about the only unusual thing.  Usually he's a grump in the morning," Ballad concludes.  He cocks his head at Roam after Mira leaves.  "You kin to her?  You don't look it."

Roam's eyes tighten as Ballad spills his yarn, but he does catch his mention of an argoraptor companion that is lurking somewhere about.  He continued his pacing and listened to Mira, with relief.  He couldn't really trust her to keep her temper or not give anything away if he tried to get into the basement.
Roam pulled out a chair and sat at the table across from Ballad.  He still kept his attention going between Ballad, Mega and the other man still at the bar.

"No, not related.  Found her on the road and had a chance to talk to her.  She said her brother is missing and I'm a fair tracker, so I offered to help.  Seems everyone else that was with us went back to continue to cover the caravans."

He scratched his neck under his chin and looked around above him for a second.  Lingering just long enough to see if he could get the others to investigate what he saw there.

"We were helping along the Chalk Road for the Wild Walk.  Ever been to Kelanio for that?"

As Roam looks around, Ballad's eyes go up to see what Roam is finding so interesting.

"Oh, once, when I was younger.  Good times, good food, good market," he says distractedly.

Mega nods in agreement.  "I found myself a nice little bambiraptor when I was a kid, Lugo was his name, pink and blue.  He died when I was fifteen, but he was the sweetest, loyalest little thing you ever did see."

There's a bit of a commotion over by the restrooms.  The little blue-and-yellow bambiraptor has found Mira, and is jumping all over her in excitement.  Mira is trying to hush him, but then suddenly stops when she realizes everyone in the Downed Dragonfly is looking at her.  Jase runs to a part of the wall and scratches at it, looking expectantly back at Mira.

Mega sighs, looking regretful.  "Well, we tried," she says, and scoots back hard in her chair, hand coming up with a blowgun that she raises to her lips.  Ballad pulls a las-blast pistol, dull with age, from an inside holster.  The man at the bar, a skinny younger man, slaps the surface and dives behind it as the old barkeeper ducks.

Mira shouts loudly, "Gaytha, come!"

"Stupid tiptoeing around this" Roam finally got  chance to smash someone in the face.  His right food snapped out and kicked the chair out from under Ballad.  Roam continued his movement and twisted to get the tabletop between him and Mega's blowgun.

"The brother is downstairs, isn't he?" Roam shouted as he finally felt energized.

Ballad sprawls on the floor as his chair goes out from under him, and Mega's expression goes cold as she raises her blowgun.

"Not your problem!" she snarls as she takes a quick breath and fires a projectile out of the hollow tube.

The elderly barkeep has disappeared, and the thin fellow from the bar heads back towards Mira.  There's a roar outside, and part of the Downed Dragonfly shudders a little.  Gaytha has arrived.  Mira frantically pries at part of the wall as the bambiraptor Jase leaps at the man coming Mira's way.

OOC: Make a DT 3 Speed defense check to avoid getting hit by the blowgun dart.  If you fail, you take 3 Speed damage.

Roam lifted the table into the way of the blowdart.  It stuck into the planking just on the other side of his head.
With a cry of effort Roam heaved the table at Mega.






OOC:
Defense:  Success  Total roll = 12
11:56, Today: Roam Linden rolled 9 using 1d20.  Speed Defense Roll +1 Step.


Attack:  Success total roll = 17  (+1 damage)
12:05, Today: Roam Linden rolled 17 using 1d20.  attack with table.

The table clips Mega and she collapses underneath it, groaning.  Ballad rolls to his feet, raising his las-blast pistol, when there's a tremendous bang! against the side of the Downed Dragonfly.  Several tons of angry triceratops has crashed through one of the open walls at Mira's call.

Ballad whips his pistol in the direction of Gaytha, seems to think about that for a split-second, and then dives behind the bar.

Mira is frantically examining the wall, and tugs at one section until it reveals a palm-pad access scanner.

"Roam, I found the door!" she calls.

Jase, the bambiraptor, is circling Mira and chirping rapidly.

Roam ducked away as debris flew at  Gaytha's entrance.  He ran for Mira at the door and started pulling his sword from his back.  He knew Ballad would have range,  but the sword serve nicely in the enclosed space.  He just had to watch out for Mega and her blowgun...

"TARLA, COME EAT SOMEONE!"

Roam ducks and dodges one way as Tarla comes rushing in from the other.  Ballad shouts as the velociraptor comes rushing in, claws extended as she jumps.  Ballad's coverall rips and gets stained red as she rips into the meat of his thigh, and he retaliates by firing his las-blast pistol at point-blank range.

Mega rolls and pries herself free of the table.  She twists upward and takes a breath, blowing out a dart at Roam as he crosses the floor.

Gaytha squeals loudly and shakes her head, ripping down some more of the ceiling.

Mira has pulled tools out of her beltpouch, including a thin glove, and is frantically touching some tiny probes to it, and then to the palm-scanner.  "I'm trying to get the door open!" she says breathlessly.  Jase, the bambiraptor, is pacing back and forth in front of her, mouth open in a hiss of defiance.

OOC: Speed Defense for you and Tarla, DT 3 for both.  3 damage to Tarla if she fails, 3 Speed damage to you if you fail.  Also, don't forget your cyphers, if you wish to use them.  :)

Dust and debris falls and ruins Ballad's shot at Tarla.  The smell of his blood has her incensed and she whips around to face him again.  With a scream she lowers her head and extends her claws and slashes him back as she passes, adding to the spreading blood.
Reaching to Mira and the door, Roam finds a dart sticking out of his shoulder.  Angrily he grabs a half filled mug of whatever is close and chucks it at Mega, hoping to smash it against her head.  Unfortunately it smashes against the wall behind her, but does manage to splash her with some of the spilled contents.  Small victories.

The dart catches in Roam's armor, which is quite lucky because he sees something viscous and green staining the tip.  Tarla slashes Ballad again, and he collapses to the floor, moaning and turning pale.  Mega thrashes as ale splashes on her from Roam's toss, but then squirms out from under the table and dives out a half-collapsed window.  Gaytha stops shaking her head as Mira says calming word loudly, ending with a little squeak of victory.

Roam can see Mira has her gloved hand pressed up against the touchpad.  It's turned a bright blue color, and chimes.  A door rolls open, heavy steel and ponderous, revealing a freight elevator large enough for Gaytha and a half.  Jase runs in and sniffs around, jumping up and down in seeming excitement.

"Let's go before she comes back!  Quill came this way!" Mira says, whistling for Gaytha.

Roam slipped into the elevator and whistled for Tarla.
He pushed Mira against the side of the elevator as the raptor raced in and twirled about.  Roam twirled his carbine off his back and prepared to repel anyone else trying to get in the elevator.

"Smack that button and lets get your brother!"

Mira slaps another button inside the cargo elevator as Tarla runs in.  The door slides shut, and the elevator begins to descend.  Outside the door, you faintly hear several people yelling.  Mira puts a hand on Gaytha and scratches her around her horns, whispering, "Good girl, good girl..." several times, possibly to calm herself more than the trike.  Jase the bambiraptor sniffs at Tarla's ankle, sneezes, and then goes to the back of the elevator and waits patiently.  The sides of the elevator seem to be caged, rather than open, and you see rock sliding by as you go deeper.  Abruptly the rock falls away, and the last sixty feet you descend in the open.

A large cavern has several square pre-fab modules, each the size of a large garage, arranged in a grid pattern on the cave floor.  Wires and power cables cris-cross the chamber, and many of the modules are brightly lit on the inside, providing illumination for most of the cavern.  While you see a few possible people working in one or two of the modules, you definitely see at least three argoraptor patrolling the "hallways".  In a few moments, your elevator will land, and the fun will begin...

Roam placed the rifle butt against his shoulder, pointed down to the ground.  He tried to mark where the agroraptors were as best he could and soothingly talked to Tarla.  "Ok sweetie, a couple other raptors out there acting like guard dogs.  we have to find the nice brother."

He took a deep breathe and listened to the elevator wind down to the bottom.  As the door opened he said "Lets go".  and stepped out and to the right, sweeping he carbine around to clear the area.

Mira stays still as Roam sweeps to the right, not immediately seeing any people or dinosaurs.  She tries to keep Gaytha calm, but Jase moves near Roam's ankle.  Then ahead of him, over by the far wall.  The chamber is quite large, with three rows of three pre-fab modules each.  Jase is heading towards the right wall, then around the corner.

A slight clicking heralds the arrival of an argoraptor to the left very soon...

Roam turns to Mira and Tarla, "Lets GO!"  He rushes after Jase.  At the corner he made sure he could see where the little bambiraptor was going and then turned and waved everyone along.  He really hated the idea of those Argoraptors catching them.

He raised his laser rifle to aim down the aisle the way the Argoraptors were coming from and waited for the others to scoot past him.  Roam quickly noticed how high the structures here were and if he could get on top of them.

Roam thinks that jumping onto the structures from the ground would take a cypher... or some jet boots.  But jumping up there from Gaytha's back, no problem!  Tarla would be able to take the same route just as easily, if not more so.  While Roam and Tarla (and Jase) would probably be able to keep hidden, there's going to be no hiding Gaytha; she's simply too large.

"I'll distract them!  If an argo wants to toy with a trike, their loss!  Go get Quill!" Mira says, and presses herself into a niche in the wall and flips down a small lens over one eye.  And answering glow shines on Gaytha's eye, and the trike's head comes up as she snorts.

The patter of argo claws comes clear as an argo pokes it snout around the corner. It snorts in complete surprise at the appearance of an enormous trike.  Its feathers come up and they rattle vigorously as its sways from side-to-side in confusion.

Roam nods in acknowledgement at Mira and turns to race after Jase.  "This little Bambiraptor is better than any bloodhound" Roam says to Tarla as they race after.
Holding his rifle with both arms he swung it back and forth as he ran.  He fought to keep his breathing steady and watched for any signs of trouble.

Jase takes one look at the argoraptor, then Gaytha, then Roam and Tarla, and doubles back, going over one aisle to leave Gaytha and the argoraptor to it.  Bambiraptors are fierce for their size (knee-high to a knee), but getting in between a trike and a argo would be rather foolish, even for them.

Bellows from Gaytha and shrieks from the argo erupt behind you as you follow Jase to the next aisle.  In a few moments, more argo shrieks sound, which means the other argoraptors have come to join the fray.  Roam, Jase, and Tarla can duck down the middle aisle.  The modules here have several different purposes.  From here, you can see one each marked Cryo 1, Cryo 2, Incubation, Mechanical, Surgery, and Lab 2.  Jase swings his nose from side-to-side, spinning in a circle as he squeaks in distress, trying to find Quill.

Roam chases Jase and starts investigating the canisters and searching for someone he doesn't know.
Why were they all here anyway?  What kind of experiments were they doing here?

If someone was with him who had any bit of technical knowledge, they could crack them all open or find out.  Roam looked to see if there were any tags or obvious markings on the modules.

Roam can quickly and stealthily pad the length of the "hallway", aware that the ruckus of Gaytha and the argos is going to attract attention from anyone working in here before long.  In Cryo 1, he sees small steel cylinders, frosted, with different dinosaur names on them.  Cryo 2 had larger one, big enough to hold small dinos or dino-pups, also labeled with different dinosaur names.  Incubation has several curved trays of dino eggs, warming lamps, and robotic arms that turn and tend the eggs.  Mechanical has a heavier door and no windows, and there's a heavy, repetitive thumping inside.  Surgery has one empty surgical bed with the curtain pulled back, and another with the curtain drawn and a figure moving behind it.  Lab 2 had two techs in white lab clean clothes and masks examining items through a microscope or fiddling with the settings on a large piece of equipment.

Roam peaked through windows as he moved down the hall.  He paused at Surgery 2 with the curtain drawn.  He knew someone was moving around, but He looked at the lock to try and get in.  He slowly tried to open the door.  Rifle at the ready.
Roams heart was beating faster as he tried to sneak in.  Would this person know where Mira's brother was?  Was he in there being operated on?

Roam sneaks in as well as he can, Tarla sneaking in after him.  Jase zips in as well, circling around Roam's feet without getting in the way.  He shuts the door gently behind him, not wanting the sounds of angry argos and a likely even angrier trike alarming whoever was on the other side of the curtain.

There is a pause, and Roam hears an older woman's voice speaking, the tone of one speaking to a recording device.  "Nothing further on scans with surgical assist, no indication of gross alterations to organs, brain structure, bone structure, or base body chemistry.  Will proceed with spinal tap and DNA analysis to determine if traceable changes can be found."

There's a few clicking sound as if someone picking up metal and plastic items off a tray, and the figure behind the curtain moves slightly.  Jase is practically bouncing in place, one hand over his mouth to keep from making noise.  The gesture is very human.

Roam doesn't want to wait and see.  He raises his rifle stock to his shoulder and steps up to the curtain.  His left hand snakes out and pulls the curtain back.
"DON'T MOVE" He says authoritatively.  His primary concern is making sure that whatever was picked up off the tray is not swung at him or Mira's brother.

He waves Jase and Tarla further into the room and places his second hand back to the rifle.  Roam turns so his back is not to the door as well.  Last thing he wants is to have someone come in behind him as well.

Standing over the surgical bed is a woman in a medical gown, her head covered with a closely-fitted cap, a sharp, gleaming tool of some kind in her hand.  The woman is old, looking like someone who came over before the Last Commute, but her blue eyes are very fierce and alert.  On the surgical bed, face down, is a boy with dark, curly hair who seems to be unconscious.  There are a few scrapes along his bare back, and you can see a needle and line in the hand at his side, but he otherwise seems unharmed.  Jase jumps up and down by Roam's side in excitement, chittering.

"You...  Genesix?  There's nothing for you here.  These are all cloned dinosaurs, none of the ones on your list."  The doctor (if indeed she is one) seems more startled and annoyed by the interruption than afraid of Roam or Tarla.  There's a tremendous crash from outside the room, and you can feel the floor vibrate.  "And tell them to stop wrecking my lab!  How you got past Mega, I don't even know.  Mega!  Mega, I told you no tourists!" she says, raising her voice as if expecting to be picked up by some technical system.

"Hi Lady.  I'm Roam, that's Quill on the table and Mega is upstairs.  She failed in her task of keeping us out.  We are determined to retrieve the young man that's face down there.  You had no right to take him and this poor little bambiraptor has been completely beside himself without his buddy.
You ARE going to lay down that scalpel carefully without harming the young man and you ARE going to back away.  We are taking from here and if you know what's good for you, you will sit tight and forget all about us.  I would hate for my friends out there to level this lab and all your equipment on accident"

Roam's voice was even and a touch polite.  Despite his anger over these doctors just snagging people.  Roam reached over and wrapped his hand around the IV line going into his hand.  The barrel of the laser rifle steady as prepared to wake Quill.

"Don't!  You don't know what you're doing!  The boy was having a seizure earlier, and I don't want him harmed further!" she says, putting a hand out (dropping the surgical tool) to ward off Roam.  "You have to know how special he is.  He survived a time terror!  It's an impossibility of gigantic proportions, and possibly the most important scientific event since the Last Commute!  If we knew how he survived, what could that mean for all of us?  The effects of warped time would no longer be an obstacle, we could master the disruptions and storms, even find a way to repair time travel!  I just need to do some more tests.  Nothing that would permanently hurt the boy, I swear.  I need a closer look at his DNA, his spinal fluid and bone marrow.  Call off your lab-wreckers!"

"So you kidnap this young man from out there.  Lie to us multiple times as we make our way into this town looking for him.  His sister is out there and you lied to her to keep them apart and now you are shoveling your shit to me.  Lady I'm ready to burn a hole through you.  These "lab wreckers" are about as gentle as you deserve right now.
If you are serious about all this you get those raptors off my friend out there and you sit down and talk some truth with us.  That's the first step or I will blow up this entire installation.

This world is overpopulated with you science types right now and I have no problem reducing the number of you self important jack-asses!"

"I haven't even seen you before, you hooligan!  I haven't lied to you!  I have no idea what they told you upstairs; I've been down here for most of the day!"  She turns toward the door, and you can see a small set of eargear in her ear and wrapped around it, metallic blue and silver.  "Retreat and stand down!  Repeat, retreat and stand down, rally to stables and await instructions."

Outside, Roam can hear her voice echoing in the corridors.  A few moments later the ruckus outside stops, and he can hear running argo feet go past him.  Mira's voice, breathless, shouts out a moment later, "Roam?  Are you all right?"

"Now, I've done as you asked.  May I please continue my procedure?  It will take less than a minute and it won't hurt him, I promise.  This is so important to everyone in Grevakc!" the scientist asks.

Keeping his rifle trained on the woman he backs to the door and slides it open.  "In here Mira, I found your brother!"

Roam moves away from the door a few steps and gives a quick whistle to Tarla and nods outside of the room.  Then looks down at Jase, "Go get Mira and bring her here.  I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens to Quill"

Jase looks quizzically at Roam, then jumps up onto the table next to Quill and nuzzles him, making little squeaking sounds.

Mira doesn't immediately appear, but you hear some heavy footsteps that are likely from Gaytha, and some murmuring that sounds like Mira in the next corridor over.

Tarla looks at the hallway, then at the scientist, and decides to growl at the scientist, showing as much teeth as possible.

"Lovely specimen, excellent teeth, may I please complete my procedure so that all of us can be on our way?" the scientist says all in one breath.

Roam smacks the side of Tarla's tale as she growls at the Dr.  "Thank you.  I love you, please get out"  with rising emphasis on the last word.  He watches as second as she moves away with her lips pulled away from her many sharp teeth.
  With a breathe he lets his rifle fall in his sling and picks up Jase.  "Don't worry, we are gonna stay right here.  If she hurts Quill you can eat her."

"Good bambi, nice bambi, I'm not going to hurt... Quill.  I don't want to hurt him.  I just want to take two little samples, that's all, and at worst all he'll be is a little sore.  And not even that, because I have a little cypher that will fix him right up.  That all right, 'raptor-runner?" the doctor asks, both of Jase and of Roam.

Tarla seems reluctant to move, being as Roam is still pointing his gun at someone and that usually means rending time is near. 

Mira still doesn't appear, and you hear the distant scream of some irritated raptors.  They sound far away, like they're in the next cave over, perhaps.  Then you hear the equally distant thrum of old fuel-cell engines revving.

Roam stands straight and lowers his rifle to his side.  He's confident he can get it up in time should he need to.  He closes his eyes for a short moment and relishes in the conditioned air in the unit.  He opens his eyes again and meets Tarla's from a few feet away.  She is still the cute little death machine he rescued from the other hunters so long ago.
Roam smiles and tilts his head out the door.  "Please".
His eyes go back to the doctor as Tarla starts for the door.  The revving engines mean trouble.  The triceratops could likely stop a jeep.  He'd have to get over there quick though, never know if they were going to pay attention to the doctors orders or not.
"Doc, please don't waste time.  You have a few minutes till your friends come over and change the dynamic here once again."

Tarla gives a snort and stalks out of the room, claws clicking as she goes looking for Mira.

"I'm not wasting time, raptor-runner, I'm trying to make sure I don't end up with bullet holes, laser burns, or teeth marks in me.  Now, I have a cypher that can easily heal up the little marks from the procedure I want to do.  I'll quickly take my samples now, heal up the boy, and you'll be on your way and I'll be on mine.  Clearly those people upstairs don't know the first thing about science."  The doctor shakes her head, and brings out two needles.  With quick, practiced movements, she makes a small puncture in Quill's neck (near the base of his skull), and another in his hip.  She puts the needles in a protective case, and puts it in an inner pocket.  Then she holds out her hand, a golden glow suffusing Quill.  He stirs a little, sighing as if in sleep, and Jase squeaks with excitement.

In the corridor, the roar of the angry trike gets louder, and you hear some shouting over the revving engines further away.  And then Mira's voice, "Gaytha, no!"

Roam purses his lips as he watches her with the needles.  As she fills him then heals Quill, he begins to take stock of the situation.  "How long will he be out?  You gave him an anesthetic?  Lets see if we can prop him up, then you can go ask your friends what exactly it is they think they're doing pissing of a trike in this confined space.  Especially since that raptor is probably going to start eating people if things don't calm down pretty quick."
The doctor had what she wanted.  That meant she was either going to be really helpful or actually try to kill them.  Roam's grip tightened on his rifle, squeezing grip, until he was sure which.

"He'll be fine.  He'll be out for a few more minutes, a half-hour at most.  Now," she stands straight, and touches the communicator around her ear.  "I told you all to stand down!  Reset position Kilo and wait for my instructions.  Now, raptor-runner, I'm going to leave now, and you can do the same, and we'll not have to see each other again until hopefully my research bears fruit and we can all go back to the future."

Roam followed the doctor out the door and he stopped.  His eyes tracked the doctor as she walked away.  After a moment he looked toward where Mira should be.  "MIRA" he called out.
Roam narrowed his eyes and looked at Tarla, their eyes locked.  "I'll see if I can wake him up."  He turned and walked back into the room and looked for some smelling salts or anything to wake up Quill.

The doctor walks out the door at a brisk pace, quickly disappearing down the corridor.

Roam can check through the contents of the room, but doesn't see any obvious remedies that he recognizes for wakefulness.  Quill tosses his head a few times, and Jase chitters slightly, rubbing him with his feathers.  He might eventually gain consciousness, but apparently not with abundant swiftness!


As Roam shouts for Mira, there is a loud bang!, and soon enough Gaytha reappears, lumbering from the direction the doctor had gone.  She stands in front of you, horns slightly streaked with gore, rock dust, and what looks like scrapes of paint.  Mira's voice begins to gasp out from the transmitter attached to Gaytha's head.

"There's a hangar back here, and they're loading up a lot of cryo capsules onto some gliders.  Some of them aren't dino or sample capsules, some of them have people in them!  I'm trying-"  There's a small burst of static, and Gaytha flaps her head.  "-back as long as I can.  Might be a drone I can use.  Quill could be on there!"

"DAMMIT MIRA!"  Roam yells.  He hopes that the radio is two-way and she can hear him through it.  Or maybe she can just hear him yelling.
"I FOUND QUILL!"  He starts to get angry and the woman for running off on her own.

Roam quickly moves to Quill's side and takes his shirt off.  He walks up to Gaytha and ties the shirt to one of her horns.  "Go get Mira!  We found Quill, she needs to know!"
He wouldn't walk away from the incapacitated brother here, but that woman was becoming more trouble than she was worth.

There's a burst of static, and then a short, "...Quill?!"  Gaytha takes the shirt Roam finds, turns and gallumphs back down from when she came.  Jase makes a chittering sound a few moments later, and Quill slowly starts to sit up, blinking at Roam in confusion as Jase nuzzles him.

There's another crash and a few bangs in the direction Gaytha went, and then a very distinct explosion rocks the underground lab!

Roam moves to the young ans side.  "I'm Roam.  Your sister brought me here to find you.  It seems like after an encounter with a time terror you were 'recovered' by a group and brought here.  Gaytha just left a moment ago to find Mira.  That noise was either Gaytha breaking things, or the idiots that abducted you trying to damage a trike."

Roam helps the man sit up and get situated.  He pulls any items that look like they belonged to Quill and pass them to him.
"We need to go make sure your sister is okay.  Are you okay to move?"  Roam was obviously getting impatient for the younger man to be able to move.
"I'm not entirely sure how much longer it will be safe for us to stay here.  If you like I can throw you over the back of my raptor."

Quill still looks a little dazed, but nods with understanding when Roam explains what's going on.  "I remember..." his face clouds when he tries to think, then abruptly perks up when Roam mentions his sister and the fact that Quill can ride on Tarla.

"Ride a raptor!  Wow!"  He seems to be well enough on his feet, and hops down from the table, taking his belt from Roam, ignoring the fact he no longer has a shirt.  Jase sticks right by his side, and Quill sticks to Roam's side, looking eagerly around for a raptor.  When he spots Tarla, his eyes light up.  Roam can toss him on her back, and he clings on like Jase clings to his back, providing a mildly amusing stack of dinosaur, human, dinosaur.  Now all mobile, Roam can head towards the loud banging sound if he wishes.

Ahead, at the back of the cave complex containing the various lab modules, he can see a wide rock tunnel, lit at various intervals by installed bio-lights.  Scratches along the walls and installed tracks on the floor indicate that heavy equipment (and probably large dinosaurs) move along here often.  At the end of the tunnel is a heavy roll-down door, now dented and ripped asunder, providing a large enough egress for something as big as Gaytha.  Inside the hole you can see more lights, smell fresh air, and see a pair of argoraptors running to the right, followed by Gaytha.

Gaytha is followed a second later by an ankloysaurus bearing a light cannon on its back, bellowing in anger.  From beside you, you hear Quill say, "Uh oh.  What'd Mira do now?"

Roam shook his head at the antics of the dinosaurs.  He motioned for Quill to follow close and moved up to the hole in the door and peaked through.  Where was Mira?  His pulse quickened at the thought of trying to get between the Trike and Argoraptors.  Or the ankylosaur for that matter.
His eyes swept for a place to move to that would keep them out of the direct line of attack, should the rambunctious dinos get too close.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:35, Fri 30 Nov 2018.

Through the door, the very large and tall corridor stretches off to the left and right.  The left side has a few carts (bio-cell fueled) of various sizes, along with a few larger crawlers for more rugged terrain.  There are also several empty spots where similar large vehicles might have been parked.  People still swarm over one of the crawlers, one driver who is looking at his instrument panel, a few more in SATI uniforms who are strapping down a large, frosty cylinder some nine feet long and four wide to the back, and one battered older woman peering through what looks like a smart-glass visor and manipulating something in the air with silvery mesh gloves on her hands.

To the right, you can see a distant square of daylight, and the occasional shadows of the dinosaurs as they chase or fight each other (at this distance, with the backlighting, the exact details are difficult to determine).  The woman on the crawler shouts, and down the corridor you can hear the whumph of the cannon firing.  One dinosaur bellows, and there's another loud bang! from that direction.  The crawler begins to thrum; apparently the driver is about ready to leave!

Roam feels a sinking feeling in his gut.  Is that Mira in the cylinder?
"Tarla, I may need you in a second.  Quill you'll probably want to get off her."
Roam walked out toward the truck with the cylinder and started to move quicker at a jog.
"hey wait for me."
He approached trying to see what was in the cylinder.

Quill hops down obediently and Jase positions himself protectively in front of him.  Tarla growls softly, rustling her feathers as she readies herself for action.  As Roam steps clearly into the light and approaches the SATI-uniformed people, they jerk to attention.  He finds himself looking down the glittering barrel of a las-rifle, while another holds honed bone throwing knives.  The driver stops fiddling with his instrument panel and looks up wildly at Roam.  The older woman with the smart-glass visors says something sharp, and you see the Doctor pop up from a back seat.

"Oh for the love of-.  Go, go, let's get out of here before he brings the whole place down.  We already have what we need!" she says.

The crawler abruptly engages, the engine a deep-throated roar as it begins to move down the tunnel!

Roam stairs down the barrel of that las-rifle and eyes the man holding it.  His face tightens as he readies to beat the man with it.  He sees the old woman out of the corner of his eye and grinds his jaw.
He stands and watches the crawler start down the hallway.  Roam was pissed at being threatened and the situation, but didn't want to risk not being able to get Quill and Jase out.
Roam turns back to the doorway and yells for them "Come on.  Lets get out of here."  He walks over to another crawler and opens the door for them to get in.  "We gotta find Gaytha and Mira.  Hopefully that's them out there causing trouble."

As Roam backs off the, crawler accelerates down the tunnel with a throaty roar.  Roam calls for Quill and Jase, and they scamper towards him willingly as he finds another crawler.  Getting into the driver's seat, he finds it's a fine piece of well-preserved SATI technology, including having a palm-scanner to start the vehicle.

Down the corridor, there's suddenly a loud boom from a laser cannon, accompanied by a flash of light.  You can hear Gaytha roaring, and suddenly Mira's voice, amplified by something.

"Give my brother back!  I know you have him, and I'll bring the ceiling down if you don't give him to me!"

Quill looks up at Roam with wide eyes.  "Uh-oh.  They made her mad..."

Roam shakes his head.  He has taken way too long trying to decide what to do.  Quill and Jase are here with Tarla and Mira and Gaytha were at the cave entrance trying to decimate the team making a b-line outta here.

"I hope she doesn't get hurt.  If you can't get this thing started try and keep up."

Roam turn and sprints down the cave toward the booming noises and Mira's amplified voice.  He didn't know how she did it, but the cave was just conducting it like crazy.  His brow started to sweat and his thighs burn as he pushed himself faster.  She was passionate and cute.  Roam was not usually the knight in shining armor type, but she might be a little grateful he rescued her brother.

"TARLA, WE GOTTA STOP HER!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:05, Mon 22 Apr 2019.

Quill and Jase stay behind as Roam and Tarla rush to the end of the tunnel.  There's a confusing melee of people and dinosaurs silhouetted against the daylight from the open end, and as he draws closer, he can begin to see what in Grevakc is going on.  Gaytha is pinning a heavy piece of earth-moving machinery to one side of the tunnel with her body and horns, the driver inside an interesting shade of pale beneath his dark skin as he uselessly grips the controls.  Mira is staring at an ankylosaurus who has a laser canon mounted on its back, staring at it with a deep intensity that makes you think she is using some kind of cypher; borne out because the ankylie seems to be mimicking her movements.  Facing them (backs mostly to you) are a half-dozen SATI-uniformed people, with four argoraptors, in two different solar-cell vehicles, one of them loaded with some bulky containers.  From the shocked stances of the SATI people, the ankylosaurus was likely under their control until very recently, as was the earth-mover.  One of the SATI people is carrying an old but lethal-looking plasma rifle, while two others have transaluminum crossbows, all aimed in the vague direction of the tunnel mouth.  A fourth has a slug pellet gun, though holstered, while the two drivers are gripping the wheels with tight knuckles.  You can see a bone-tipped harpoon (make for catching the giant fish of the rivers) in the back of the less-loaded vehicle, along with hard cases (the size of a large briefcase) with SATI's symbol on them, locked with a small fingerprint scanner.

It appears it's a standoff for the moment, and the slightest thing could turn the tide...

Roam turns to Tarla,
"Alright T, I wan to you to pin that one"  Roam pointed to the one with the plasma rifle. "No eating.  We need stop things from getting worse."

Roam held his hand back for Quill and Jase, so they would slow down or stop.
Roam stepped carefully toward one of the men with the crossbows.  His knife in one hand and laser in the other.
He placed the knife on the shoulder of one crossbowman and had the rifle resting toward the other as Tarla went after the man with the Plasma rifle.


Roam raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE HOLD ON.  MIRA, WE HAVE QUILL AND JASE.  IT IS TIME WE LET THESE NICE PEOPLE GO ON THEIR WAY.  NO ONE NEEDS TO GET HURT AT THIS POINT."

When Mira seeks Roam, her eyes widen, because with Tarla pouncing on one of the SATI gunslingers and Roam loudly covering another, the SATI officers are startled and don’t immediately move.  Though they’re outnumbered, it’s clear they’ve had a bad day and are just about Done with this entire situation.

“Where’s Quill?” Mira demands, clearly wanting to see her brother, but looking tentatively hopeful at Roam's shout.

Then another shout reverberates down the tunnel.

It seems Quill couldn’t get the larger vehicle to go, probably because of the hand-scanner, but apparently he managed to find a PA.  “Mira-meer, I’m heeeeere!” comes the voice of a young boy who’s found a very loud toy to play with.  Mira’s face lights up with joy, and she loses her control over the anklysaurus.  It snorts and shakes its head back and forth.  The SATI officers get a panicked expression on their face and abruptly run down the hall, past Mira.  The one in the earth-mover is staring down Gaytha with trepidation, but the ankylosaurus roars in clear aggression!

Roam's stomach drops as he watches the Ankylosaur.  Mira's concentration slipped and she lost control of the beast, now it was going to squish them all or use one of its various weapon options.
Roams eyes never left the beast, but out of the side of his mouth he called out.  "Tell me you have a control word for that thing or we're all in trouble"
He started to tense as his heartbeat accelerated realizing how much trouble they were in.  He had an idea that was either going to help or piss this thing off more.
"Word, does it have a code word???"

The earth-mover operator's mouth moves a few times without saying anything, and then he finally wheezes out, "Nilat!  Mitcari-Nilat!"

The ankylosaurus snorts, and the man repeats the phrases again.  With a groan, the dino takes a step back, and a huge crash echoes in the tunnel as the earth-mover settles back to the ground.  The operator climbs out frantically, hands up, and goes to dash down the tunnel, away from the two-person, two-dinosaur wrecking crew who has destroyed his place of work!

Roam waits for the rest of his group to gather.  He makes sure Mira and Quill try nothing else and invites Tarla over to rub her neck.  He just wants to let the others get on their way and take his people out of here.  This needs to be done.

“You’ve found the exit, Mira.  Looks like it is a good time for us to make our way.  Are you ready Quill?”
Roam wiggles his finger at Jase playing with the tiny Dino for a second and leading them out of the tunnel.

Quill comes running down the corridor, Jase at his side, as Roam keeps an eye on the akylosaurus.  Mira shrieks with joy and goes to hug her brother as Gaytha faces the ankly with a cross expression on her face (as much as a trike can).  The ankly sways back and forth, bangs the earth-mover into the wall one more time as emphasis, and stomps out in the direction the rest of the SATI people took, snorting all the while.

Once the siblings have managed to separate themselves, Roam nods to the exit.  Mira puts her hand on Gaytha and boosts Quill up, pulling herself up as well.

"You think those SATI people have run off?  I don't want to run into them again if they've managed to regroup; I'm fresh out of cyphers," Mira says quietly.

Roam looked around.
“They seemed rather adamant about bugging out.  I don’t think they appreciated us finding their little secret hidey hole.  I’m pretty sure I can lead us out and away from them.  We have the dino’s, I think this is a good time.”

He started hiking out to the end of the tunnel.  It should be fairly easy to see which way the tracks went and go the other way.  One nice thing to stop and help this girl on the side of the trail and this shitstorm of crazy falls on him.

“Where are you trying to go?”

Mira breaths a sigh of relief.  "I hope they keep running until..."  She leaves the statement unsaid as Roam asks his other question.  "Kelanio for the Wild Walk, at least after we finished picking up a few things."  She hems and haws for a minute as they walk out of the tunnel to see tire treads, footprints, and dino treads headed away from the tunnel.  Behind you is a bluff, on top of which is the little town of Haven.

"You think those jerks would mind if we helped ourselves to a thing or three to make up for everything they put us through?" she asks.

Roam looks at the siblings.
"Just because these people bugged out, doesn't mean the people in the town above where we entered aren't still there.  And they are probably pissed at us for causing that ruckus in the bar.  We were waving guns and shooting the place up.  If you really feel you need to, we can take a look.  If it is still inhabited I will strongly urge you to leave well enough alone."
He grabs Tarlas snout and rubs it to soothe her and himself.  A moment and he finally turns back to face Mira.  He searches her face to see if what he has said sank into her brain at all.  His gaze switching between her eyes to see if the lights are on inside.

"Or we can head back to the City and participate in the Wandering Walk like we intended."

The lights inside are flickering erratically, and a muted explosion comes from somewhere deep within the facility.  In the back of the hangar, something large falls over in slow motion, making an awful racket as it crashes to the floor.

Mira sighs, but shakes her head.  "I'm just so angry at them for taking Quill, Roam.  But no, I'm not going to put us in danger again."  She ducks her head a bit.  "You might not be nice enough to pull our behinds out of the fire next time."

Quill pipes up, "I'm sorry, Mira!  I fell asleep during the time storm and when I woke up Mister Roam and Tarla were there with Jase."

Mira goes to hug her brother and reassure him he hadn't done anything wrong.  She boots him and Jase onto Gaytha's back and nods at Roam.  "Let's get to Kelanio before anything else goes wrong."

Assuming all are in agreement, you guys can backtrack around Haven, avoiding anything that looks like paths any Haven residents would have used, until you're back on the Chalk Road.  By now the sun is starting to head down, but you can get a few more hours of travel in before night closes in.  As the Chalk Road is well-traveled, you see several more dino-riders and merchants with loaded dinos or carts along the road as you go, and by the time you see one of the roadhouses used as shelter, there are at least three others already settling down for the night.

The roadhouse is simple bathing facilities and food, surrounded by large slots of cleared land behind good fencing and topped with an awning, providing protection from predators and a modicum of privacy for a modest fee.  Already settling in for the evening are what looks like a merchant unloading her akylosaurus, a pair of hikers with their quartet of colorful bambiraptors, and a lean, short woman in tight spider-silk who's rubbing down a strutheomimus, a lean running dinosaur who often participate in timed races for high stakes.

Roam pulls up to the roadhouse with Quill and Mira in tow.  "Great place to stop for the night."  He settles Tarla outside and brushes out her feathers.  He gives others a chance to take care of Gaytha before going inside to secure rooms.  Roam wanders up to the counter and leans forward.  "Space for 3 pease, and a beer if you please."

The roadhouse tender is a middled-aged man with an old, well-preserved vest that's probably pre-Last Commute, dino-leather pants and belt, with a woven-fiber hat upon his mostly-bald head.  He regards Roam with amused dark eyes and brings up a foaming tankard in a wooden cup of the usual, inexpensive palm beer.  "Three and how much space for dinos?  Don't want to rent you for three humans and find out you've each got a big 'un with you," he says.  Out of the corner of your eye you can see Jase is trying to make friends with the other bambiraptors, while Quill grins and greets the bambis' keepers.  Mira is watching him like a pterodon, eyes darting nervously.  "You don't look like a trader...  You going to the Walk for the games?  Or security?"

“Ha, right you are.  On my way for the walk with these two.  I dunno about security, but I am trying to keep these two out of trouble.  Not sure I know why at this point.  As for Dino’s, the lady has a trike and I’ve my raptor.  Any stable space would be appreciated.
Is anyone else here looking for company on the walk?  Safety in numbers and such.”

Roam takes the palm beer and drinks.

The tender nods and looks over at Gaytha, Mira, and Quill, considering.  "Space 5, that should give you all enough room.  Water's here and at the bathhouse, comes with the cost of the space.  Your drinks are one nautil, the space will be 10 for all three of you.  Herbivore feed is 2 nautils, carnivores do their own hunting."  He taps his chin, looking over at Tarla.  "Or, as you look like you're a hunter, if you can hunt me enough meat for a morning feed for three tyros, I'll let you have the space for 3."

A look around and Roam can spy three small tyrannosaurs, a version engineered to be about six feet tall, roaming around the camp with the roadhouse logo on a banner tied around their middles.  Jase and the other bambiraptors seem to be circling around each other, feathers rattling softly in some kind of elaborate greeting ritual amongst their kind.  Mira is adjusting the communicator that had been attached to Gaytha's head, while Quill is talking with a young man who is watching the bambiraptors with amusement.

The woman with the struthiomimus finishes rubbing down her dino and walks over to the tender, sliding across a nautil and accepting a mug of palm beer with evident gratitude.  She's petite and athletic, her hair cut nearly to nothing, wearing what looks like light leather armor and bearing a bone dagger on her hip.  She tips her glass to you before drinking with relish.

"I can take a poke at finding some grub for those hungry boys.  That shouldn't be hard."

Roam purses his lips and thought for a moment.  He ends up smiling at the woman drinking next to him.  "That's a beautiful 'mimus.  Looks like it's maybe 7 years old or so.  I bet she's swift as the wind when you get her up to speed.  My name is Roam.He holds out his hand.

The woman smiles at Roam and tips her beer in his direction.  "Not far off.  She's a few ticks over six years old, and goes by 'Kelasie's Storm Wind'."  She tips her beer back at herself.  "Kelasie being me, Roam.  What brings you heading towards the 'Walk, other than hunting?"

Roam, as you're talking, you spy Quill and the other bambiraptors begin to circle as if getting ready for a bout, or perhaps a hunt.  They're shaking out their feathers with a sound like falling rain, making their owners chortle.

Roam's arms cross and the beer becomes a prop.
"Nice to make your acquaintance Kelasie.  I'm just playing guide a bit.  Trying to keep these two knuckleheads out of trouble on the way to the walk.  It's been a little too long since I've visited Keilano.  It will be nice to stop in on a few friends.  What about you?"

Roam eyes the bambi's and sizes them up.  He just smiles and hopes Quill doesn't get to bitten up.

"Just wrangling people to town?" she says with a bit of a laugh.  Roam knows that Chalk Road Guides (with their papers and badges) are actually sort of ambassadors of Kelanio, and get bonuses for getting people into the city to stimulate the economy.  Some of them have an unfortunate reputation for getting people to the city by underhanded means, even sometimes nearly dragging them in like reluctant dinos.

The bambis looks to be healthy and fierce, and as they begin to circle and dart, they try to grab each other by the tail with their jaws, making the other squeak in indignation.  You've seen this a few times: it's play-fighting behavior, rather than the more damaging moves called for in dino-wrestling.  Some of the other campers are gathering around, and you see a few nautils change hands as people begin to bet.

Roam nods.  "Yep.  It's nice to come in out of the jungle every once in a while."  He watches the bambi's as they hop and dart after one another.
"I am happy to help around doing things like finding food for those mini-rex's, but those kids had a hard go of it and I want to make sure they make it the rest of the way without getting their skulls dented."  His weight settled a little more on his elbows on the counter.  The excitement of the last few days left him needing a good nights sleep.
"What do you think Kelasie?  Want to go on a little hunt?  Shouldn't be too long and I can see if our friend will help reduce the rate on your room as well."

Kelasie nods, smiling, and downs the balance of her beer.  She returns to her campsite to settle her 'mimus and get some items from her tent.  She comes back a few minutes later with blowdart tube, a bandolier of darts, a sturdy bone club strapped to her thigh, and dagger sheathed at her waist.  "These little stingers will slow someone down until we can run it to earth," she says, tapping the darts.  "Someone tried to use them on us during a race.  We beat the pants off them anyway, and I took these and the prize money as compensation."  Kelasie gives you a feral grin and waves for you to point the way.

Once Roam is prepared, he can set off in the lead.  Casting about from the campsite, he knows they'll have to go farther just because the noise from the Chalk Road and the busy roadhouse will have chased off most of the game.  Still, Grevakc is large and mostly untamed, so it isn't more than an hour before he spies a good potential trail.  Looks like a small bronto, probably either a baby or one genetically modified to be small.  The steps are a bit shortened on one side, so you think it's likely it's been hurt, which would make it easy prey.  Most importantly, you don't feel the ground-shaking or tree-rattling that would signify the nearby presence of a full-grown adult bronto, which would be ludicrous to take on without some very heavy weapons.

Within the next half hour you and Kelasie manage to locate a patch of palm-like trees where the little bronto is grazing.  Keeping quiet and downwind, you spy a few interesting things in the thick twilight.  One, it definitely looks like a mini adult bronto.  Two, it has the remains of an old, broken shackle on one leg.

Kelasie sidles a bit closer to you and whispers, "All right, what's the plan?  Attack from the same side?  Two sides?  One after the other?  You're a better hunter than me from the way you track, so let me know the best way to bag this bronto."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:52, Sat 10 Aug 2019.

"We prepare to move quick.  I want you to put a few of those darts into it.  Enough to start slowing it down.  Tarla can run it to ground and pump the tranquilizer through its veins.  When it tires we can take it and bring it back to the road house for its meat.  Tarla knows what to do.  I'm going to move up as far as I can to be ready to go after it."

Roam silently moved off in the other direction.  The palm trees would keep the creature from going in certain directions.  If it spooked it would likely go straight out in that direction.  Favoring its right rear leg would cause it to veer off to that side and from what he could see in that direction it would not be any worse.  He would be ready.  After moving up he cupped his hands in front of his mouth and blew into them creating a bird call that Kelasie would recognize.

He kept his weapons ready and felt his heartbeat speeding in anticipation of the chase.

Kelasie nods in acceptance of the plan, and moves a little closer to the bronto to have the best chance of hitting the beast.  She raises her hand to Roam, indicating she's about to shoot, takes a deep breath, and blows hard.  The little dart flies out and embeds into the neck of the bonto.  It doesn't seem to notice immediately, but it definitely notices the second dart!  With a bellow, it throws its head around, searching for the source of the sting.

Roam indicates to Tarla to wait as Kelasie stung the bronto, then gave her the signal to chase.  However, Tarla instead dashed at the bronto and began to posture and threaten, keeping herself between Roam and the angry herbivore, snapping at its flanks.  You see Kelasie running to the side, trying to find a better angle to hit the bronto without endangering Tarla.



--

Coralian, you are on your way to the Wild Walk in Kelanio, a festival celebrating all the ways humans and dinosaurs work together.  Making your own way, as it your wont, you had foraged and gathered along your journey to both feed yourself and to have a stock of supplies on hand to trade or sell, should there be something truly excellent at the Walk.  As you were finishing up the last of your gathering in the growing dusk, packing your last selection of plants into Ajax's saddlebags, you hear a tremendous racket fairly nearby, like two dinosaurs have gotten into a violent confrontation!

Coralian startles a bit before tightening the strap and moving forward to pat the ankylo on the head.  "Should we check it out, buddy?  Let's try and be quiet, ok?"  She knocks an arrow and stalks forward trying to remain unobtrusive.  As she moves, she tries to identify the type of dinosaurs making the noises.  Ajax moves along behind her and slightly to the right, as quiet as a creature that big can manage.  The ruckus they are investigating provides some sonic cover, at least.

"Stupid bird" he mutters to himself.
Roam is on his feet and makes one last attempt to salvage the original plan.  Careful to note the way Kelasie moved he pointed to take advantage and summons his disciplinary voice for the Dino and yells to her.
"Tarla, Chase that way!"

Tarla lowers her head in guilt, before circling into position.  Hissing, Tarla raises her claws and sets herself to intimidate the bronto into bolting.

Coralian continues to steal forward, gently pushing fern fronds out of the way and keeping the arrow knocked.  She does her best to figure out what's going on ahead and what danger it might pose.  Ajax moves slowly behind her, watchful as ever.

Tarla gets with the program, hissing after the bronto with gusto, making mock-dashes until she starts the bronto into running.  Kelasie tries to run at an angle, ready to fire off another dart if the bronto tries to turn from the path.  The bronto runs across the clearing, turning and circling, but Tarla runs after him, nipping at his heels to keep him going.  He seems reluctant to fully leave the clearing, but is definitely afraid of Tarla and keeps the pace up!

--

Coralian, you come across a scene of mini brono with an old shackle bolting across a clear, followed by an argoraptor, followed by a man in hunting gear, paralleled by a slim woman in tight leathers clutching a blowtube.  It seems a hunt is on!

Coralian looks around, trying to determine if the trio tailing the little brontosaurus¹
is the only hunting and chasing going on, or if she and Ajax need to watch their backs as well (even if just to avoid getting stepped on).

"What do you think, buddy?  Should we follow them or make straight for the road?  We've got a festival to attend, but we have a little time to dawdle along the way."  Coralian has slowed to a relaxed amble as she follows the hunters' path, rubbing Ajax's head as she muses.  The bow and arrow is still gripped for easy use in her left hand.

¹ OOC: Woe to the oft-neglected apatasaurus. 

Coralian, it looks like they are hunting the broto, not anything that moves.  As you watch the hunt, something else catches your eye: a shimmer in the air, a place where the trees and ferns don't quite line up correctly... a time anomaly not more than a dozen paces from you!

---

Roam, as you, Tarla, and Kelasie try to corral the bronto, running it to exhaustion, you think you spy another form lurking (or perhaps just standing) outside of your hunting clearing.  The broto is beginning to slow from the effects of Kelasie's poisoned darts, and Tarla is making eager noises, ready to pounce on the prey.

Coralian smiles and thinks We got lucky today.
 Assuming that the anomaly or the path to it wouldn't interfere with the actions around the little bronto, she'll take the chance to harvest some cyphers.  Leaning down, she whispers to Ajax, "Ajax, watch my back.  Quietly, please.  I've gotta stock up."  Then she walks with all due stealth to the time anomaly.  No good adding more stress to the hunting she observed.

Ajax seems quite pleased to watch and protect Coralian from any threats, and takes up a vigilant stance.  As Coralian steps into the anomaly, she feels sort of tickle at the back of her throat, a sound of rain but in whispers, and a feel of wind, but inside-out.  She feels cyphers settle into her system, one to hold creatures in stasis, the other to create an electrical wall.

Coralian smiles as she returns to Ajax, quite content with her little foray.  She returns to the spot beside his head and resumes watching the action around the mini-long neck.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Thu 22 Aug 2019.

Roam, Tarla, and Kelasie manage to keep the little bronto running for several minutes, feinting to keep it from dashing too far away (which it doesn't seem inclined to do anyways) until it finally keels over on the ground, succumbed to the drugged darts.  However, as the bronto drops, Roam spies a nearly full-grown ankylosaurus just outside the clearing!

Coralian, feeling the eyes of strangers on her, smiles and waves in greeting.

She's relaxed, but the bow and arrow is still ready in her left hand.

Roam sees anklo, then the person standing close by.  He gives a quick wave as he approaches the little bronto.  Quickly he approaches the neck of the bronto and kneels pulling his knife the special glass glinting in the sunlight.
"Here is the tough part, Kelasie please hold the head down.  It will start to buck."

Waiting for the woman to take her place, Roam then signals to Tarla.
"Good job girl.  You were great."  Roam looked at Tarla in the eye and gave her a strong gaze.  A wave went bristled through her feathers and a small twitter from her snout.
Roam knelt back onto the upper neck and pointed Tarla at the lower part.
"I honor you with the kill."

Tarla swung her tail anxiously and stalked forward before stretching up and 'barking' to the sky.

Coralian remained quiet as the scene unfolded.  This did not appear to be sport hunting or wanton violence.  An explanation could wait until the stress was over.

Ajax occasionally moved his head from side to side, scanning their flanks.

Tarla takes a couple of bites to finish the job, and Kelasie actually gets bucked clean off the bronto as it thrashes in its death throes, but eventually the beast lies dead.

Coralian, as you and Ajax wait and watch, Ajax notices something, and snuffles into the bushes to get your attention.  Not too far from where the brono lies is a large egg on a nest!

Coralian follows along to where Ajax is indicating.  She scans the area, just in case a protective parent is watching the egg.  Examining the ground, nest, and general area, as well as the egg itself, she tries to identify the creature and if it's likely the parent is nearby.

As far as Coralian can tell the egg looks like a bronto egg, very likely belonging to the one who just expired, which perhaps explained why it didn't break for freedom out of the clearing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:10, Sun 25 Aug 2019.

Coralian gently picks up the egg, wraps it in rags, and slides it into her backpack.  This could be another something to sell at the fair, unless she thought maybe her parents might want it for the farm.  She'd have to think about during her travels.

She whispers to her traveling companion.  "Nice find, buddy.  We'll have to get you a treat tonight."  She smiles and rubs Ajax under the chin before standing and walking back to her previous observation point.

Roam set to preparing the bronto with his glassine knife.  With some minor direction he was able to have Kelasie assist with the harder parts of cleaning the dinosaur for transport.
"We should be able to get some chunks out of here and get them back.  The rest will go to waist if we leave it at that.  Tarla can't drag this much.  If you take back a load, Tarla and I can wait and keep other scavengers away until you get back for another load.  When you return try and bring a sled or something to drag a bigger portion.  Even a tarp would do.  I'll let T have a little more.  She did a good job."
Roam stood Tarla greedily licked the blood off his hands.  Roam thanked her and rubbed the crest of Tarla's skull, eliciting another set of coos.

As Kelasie was preparing to head back, Roam looked off in the direction of the figure he saw before.  Calling out "Hail, how goes it out there?"

Coralian steps forward with the ankylosaurus following.  "Hi.  I'm Coralian.  This is Ajax.  We're doing just fine, thanks for asking.  How are you three doing?"

Bow still in hand, Coralian rubs Ajax's head.  He'd been around blood and raw meat before, of course, but a little extra comforting was important around strangers.

Roam noticed the bow and Ankylosaur as they came forward.  The ankylo seemed healthy and strong.  Roam pulled a rag from his pocket and wifed his knife clean and slid it away.  He wiped at his hands cleaning off the last of the blood and dino spit, before holding it out to the new arrival.
"Hi my name is Roam.  This is Kelasie and Tarla is my raptor.  We came out to find some food for an inn keepers baby-rex's.  It looks like we have got enough for that, plus everyone there.  You're welcome to come along, but we were just figuring out the logistics of getting this thing back."
The rag was slipped away and the canteen came out.  A deep drink helped him settle even more from the earlier activity.
He clipped it back to his belt and straightened his hide leather jacket.

Roam is tall and lean.  The sides and back of his skull shaved to stubble.  His clothes are worn and practical, it is obvious he spends more time out of the cities than in them.

Coralian's attire has a ruggedness similar to Roam's, primarily stout, worn leather and sturdy canvas. While there's dirt under her nails and plenty of smudges on her clothes, her face, at least, is clean.  Her hair is just shy of shoulder length.  For a woman, she's rather tall.

"We're on our way to the Wild Walk.  Maybe we can help each other out.  Ajax can help haul your carcass and you can get us room and board for the night.  A shower and soft bed does wonders for a weary traveler."  She smiles with earnest optimism, offering her hand to shake for the deal.

Roam gives a shake and turns to Ajax.  "If you are willing to help big fella, we would appreciate it."

He moves to the carcass and starts preparing it to be moved.  "I think for this much meat the owner would definitely take in another person.  Just don't use all the hot water!"

With three people and the two dinos the group loads the carcass onto the ankylosaur and trudges back to the inn.

As they travel Roam decides to learn more about his companions.  "So you are joining the Walk as well?  I met Kelasie at the inn.  She is as well.  I was helping a brother and sister that got waylaid on their journey.  It seems like every time this many people start getting together there is always drama."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:00, Mon 26 Aug 2019.

After the handshake and before the butchering began in earnest, Coralian would point out the time anomaly she'd found, if it was still present.

As for hauling the meat, she'd try to cobble a sled from saplings and vines so Ajax could drag it behind him without having to worry about getting blood and guts all over his shell.

After Roam and Kelasie have had their chance at the anomaly (assuming they need it and it's still there), Coralian will walk along with them toward the inn.

"Yeah, I haven't been in a few years.  I've got some herbs and roots to sell.  A few minerals I picked up also.  Maybe I can make a few more connections in villages I don't get a chance to visit."

With Coralian and Ajax's help, the butchered meat is loaded up onto the sledge and dragged back to the roadhouse.  The proprietor is well pleased as your hunting, and cheerfully accepts the nominal fee for your stay.

"And since the lady with the tank helped you, you can have a space here for three nautils as well," he adds to Coralian.  The roadhouse provides fenced-in areas for people to camp, and access to bathrooms and cleaning facilities.

"That was a good hunt, and spares me a few nautils, so thanks for that Roam.  Maybe I'll see you at the Walk!" Kelasie says, and retires for one more palm beer before sleeping.

Roam, you see Mira and Quill have retired to your space, Quill juggling a small, fat pouch of what sounds like nautils, and Mira shaking her head and laughing.  When she spies Roam in the company of a stranger who definitely wasn't within the campgrounds before, she looks a lot more wary, standing up and putting her hand on Gaytha to calm her trike.

Coralian thanks the innkeeper profusely for the room and board.  She takes some time to observe the other humans and dinos at the site, judging who might buy or might sell, which might be a threat.  After making sure Ajax was safe and comfortable in the stables and that her possessions were secure, she sought out Roam again to check on his plans for the night and coming days.

Roam wanders into the space and starts dropping his equipment.  Watching Quill and Mira as he strips his armor off, "Looks as if you had some fun.  I brought some meat back for the carnivores.  Make sure Jase gets out there for some before he settles in."   He pulled his boots off and socks.

"I met someone out there.  A lady with an Ankylo.  She's on her way in and is spending the night here as well.  I plan on getting up early and starting out after eating.  Going to bathe, back in a bit"  Grabbing a towel from his pack, Roam found his way out to wash and clean the bronto's blood off his clothes and skin.

On his way back in, he spotted Coralian,  "Evening.  I've finished cleaning up.  What are you up to?  I'm over here with Quill and Mira.  You are welcome of course.  You are heading into Kelaino right?  If you're looking for company, I am planning to set out after an early breakfast.  Besides that, I'm just going to finish getting cleaned up and try and grab another drink."

Roam finished drying the longer hair off the top of his head as he finished walking to the room.

"I'll stay with Ajax tonight, thanks, but I'll be happy to take you up on the traveling offer.  Maybe I can catch up on a little news before we reach the Walk."

When she reached the others, Coralian wore her regular, winning smile.  "Hello.  I'm Coralian."  She waves gently in greeting.

Mira still looks somewhat wary at Coralian, but finally nods and offers her hand.  "Mira.  Sorry, it's been a very, very long day for us.  We're heading to Kelanio too."

When Roam asks what Quill has been up to, he giggles and scratches Jase's back.  "Jase is really good!  I've been training him for a while, and they didn't believe me, so they bet and we won!"  At the notion that there's food for Jase, Quill and Jase dash off to get a few scraps (as that's all a little bambi needs).

Mira's eyes follow her brother even as she talks to Roam and Coralian.  "Roam helped us out of a tight spot today; we were lucky to meet him."  She shakes her head and abruptly changes the subject, "I rig up implants for dinos.  Communications, monitoring, that kind of thing.  I think I've got a couple of clients just from talking to the people around here.  There's going to be a really big parade with some of the SATI higher-ups, I heard, and they've ordered more road knights in for security.  Supposed to be some big speech during the Walk too.  Someone was saying it was about time travel, but you hear that rumor every year.  One of the knights was saying there might be some Butterflies trying to get in an wreck some stuff, so he was hired to guard some of the labs."

The Butterflies, you both know, are a group that feels that time travel shouldn't be fixed, and indeed all tech should be destroyed so humans stop interfering with the world.  Some Butterflies will use some limited tech, if it means destroying greater tech, like using a disabling device, explosives, or something that would emit an EMP.  They are not beloved by SATI in the slightest.

"Well, it looks like you've got a safe place to rest now, so your day's looking up."

After listening to the latest news, Coralian nods.  "That's a lot to think on."  She purses her lips briefly.  "I'm going to get washed up.  Can we all meet up later to grab some food together?"  Coralian wanted to get a better sense of her traveling companions.  And fill her belly, of course.

"Sure"

Roam laughed at Quill and Jase.  He finished cleaning up and dressing, then waved his hand to the others to he left their room for food.  He sat at one of the tables in the common area and asked "How about a small hunk of that bronto and something green to go with it and a beer!  Since Jase is pulling his weight, dinner is on you." he finished pointing at Quill.

Roam sat back and talked with the two young travelers.  "What are you two planning after The Walk?"

Coralian can find the bathhouse easily and get a nice steam and rinse if she wishes.  There's some grilled meat on a stick available at the roadhouse bar, along with roasted roots - basically anything that can be grilled over open flames.  The food isn't half bad for roadhouse fare, and for certain it is fresh!  Once food is obtained, the group can come back together for a chat.

When asked about the walk, Mira looks over at Jase (who was happy to pay for the food), and ruffles her brother's hair before hugging him to her side.  "After everything that happened... maybe find someplace else.  I usually travel and do work for different clients, but maybe I can find a place in one of the cities?  I don't know what the competition would be like in Kelanio, though.  Some of the smaller towns really will pay well if they haven't had a good implant specialist by in a while."

"I want to be a dino-wrestler!  Quill could win all the matches and we'd be famous!" Quill says enthusiastically, dinner seemingly making him more energetic than ever.  Mira smiles at him, but it's a smile that's somewhat pained from her long day.

"Depends on how safe some of those towns are," Mira adds, her tone more sober.  Kelanio is the largest and probably best-maintained and governed of the remaining cities.  Other cities are more lawless, smaller, poorer, or their government changes rather frequently.  In smaller towns, things are even less certain.  Some places will only be around for a few years before succumbing to dinosaur attacks, natural disasters, or other, stranger problems.

Coralian follows along, just listening.  Her plans after the Walk are the same as before: wander, harvest, and support the various towns and outpost to support herself and Ajax.  She says as much to the small group.

"Sometimes I'll bring bigger stuff back to the family farm.  It helps them out and someday, when I'm too old for living in the jungles, it'll make my life easier there.  But that's a long way off.  I've got no reason to settle down right now."

The night passes quietly enough, and by morning you can break your fast with some fruit from the roadhouse shop for 1 nautil (enough for breakfast and lunch) or more roasted kebabs for the same.  A quick hunting for the meat-eaters and you can be on your way.  The crowd on the road swells as you draw closer to Kelanio, with occasional signs, painted rocks, and even large dinosaurs sporting banners all advertising the Wild Walk.

By sundown you can see the gates of the city illuminated by electrical lights, a rarity in most places in Grevakc.  Guards in SATI uniforms and armor inspect the incoming crowds, but keep things moving briskly.  If you're not a major merchant, the search is fairly simple.  It's not precisely clear what they're looking for, but with the collared argoraptors at the guards' sides, they're likely looking for know persons of interest or anyone with particularly dangerous weapons or technology.

Kelanio is the original city in Grevakc, and as such it sports a great deal of technology and buildings not often seen in the rest of the world.  Electric lights cluster around the lab complexes, while torches and bio-luminescent lights illuminate the rest of the streets and the docks.  Large gathering spaces and amphitheaters occasionally used to play holo-films (three of which survived to the present day) are now set up with temporary booths for a market, arena, and entertainment spaces for the opening of the Walk tomorrow.  Decorations of bones and spider-silk, origami leaves painted bright colors and long vine ropes are in the process of being hung on many buildings and across the streets.

Kelasie and her 'mimus had traveled near you guys most of the day, and smiles and waves as she peels off to head to what is likely quarters for the athletes.

Many of the people, at least those who don't already seem to have a booth to get to, are heading towards a district of inns and taverns.  You can see the Lava Beds, with its lurid torchlit glow and promise of comfort, Leetho Inn, with many families and a large communal space out front, Nests and Nooks, which is an upgraded sort of roadhouse where one sleeps next to their dino, and Sundown Horizons, a higher-end inn with a promise of electricity.  For food and probably entertainment, you can spy Mammoth Mugs, a rather kitschy bar with oversized drinks, the Indigo Iridian, with its dance floor and glowing small dinos to make a trippy experience, Yellow Tail, with its colorful array of drinks and various games, and Logan's, a tourist bar with a local, quiet flair, for those who miss their home watering holes.

As you consider where to go, Mira pauses, arm around Quill.

"Thank you for getting us here Roam, Coralian.  It's nice to know there's still good people in the world."  The two step forward and hug Roam fiercely, then scratch Tarla, if she will permit it.  "I guess you guys have stuff to do, so I hope I'll see you around during the Walk!"

"It was nice traveling with you.  Stay safe out there."  She smiles down at Jase, who's just a bit older than one of her nephews.

Looking around at the options, she waits for Roam to finish his goodbyes before engaging in Conversation.  "I've got a few things to sell right away, so I can cover room and board for this.  Ajax and I are probably going to Nests and Nooks, if they still have room by then.  What are your plans?"

Roam smiled at the siblings.  He shook hands with Quill and scratched Jase.  When he hugged Mira he whispered into her ear "Some of the people from Haven are here.  Do your best to steer clear."  Tarla surprised Mira at first as if to bite her.  Then shoved her nose into Miras hand.  Roam watched them walk off.

Walking with Coralian and previewing their options Roam answers her.  "I hope they stay out of trouble.  Nest and Nooks is fine.  I don't mind fronting you a few Nautils for board, you can get me back."

Roam patted Tarla's neck and walked off to procure rooms.

"That's very kind of you.  I appreciate it."  Coralian follows Roam inside and observes as he procures room.  She tries to note costs and amenities available.  She also keeps an ear out for merchant talk, perhaps what herbs are in demand this year and where one might get a good price for viable dinosaur eggs.

As Roam's transaction winds down, she asks the attendant, "Are there any maps available for the festival?"

Mira freezes when Roam hugs her, looks around carefully, then nods and takes Quill's hand, the two of them joining the crowd.

Roam can check out Nests and Nooks, which allows people to keep their larger dinos with them, whereas most other inns have stables of some sort (as large dinos make large waste).  But for the price of 6 nautils (and probably a tip for the stablehands) you can get a bed, access to the bath house, and a good hot meal with beer, water, or juice, plus fodder for your dino.  If you don't mind shoveling for your own dino, the price goes down to 5 nautils.  One does put up with a certain amount of noise and smell, but it's a decent deal for a Kelanio-central inn during the Wild Walk.  There's a few people here already, mostly with larger dinos, and a great deal of traffic on the street as the finishing touches are being put on various buildings for the opening of the festival.

Keeping a weather eye out, as those people Roam had noticed might be interested in his presence as well, he doesn't notice them near Nests and Nooks, but they did seem to be headed in the direction of the labs and more developed areas of Kelanio.

In such a crowd there are bound to be those who prey on the holiday-makers, and Roam can spy at least two pickpockets working the crowd on his way to the inn, including one who is using his extremely adorable and fuzzy alphadon as a distraction as he palms nautils from the unsuspecting.

A few quick inquiries can certainly net you both a list of the various activities and when and where they'll be.  There's the opening ceremonies, the mid-morning parade, various races and contests of skill (different kinds of obstacles courses, draft-pulling competitions, beauty contests for feathers and skin-painting, seek-and-hunt courses, and others), several plays and concerts, large storytelling gatherings, adoption groups, training classes, food and drink stalls, and of course many, many vendors selling everything to do with dinos.

Coralian can find her way to the open market and for the low price of a single nautil, buy herself a space for Ajax so she can sell from his saddlebags.  She's not the only one trying to make a quick bit of spending money, and she can see people around her selling handicrafts of all sorts. Once she has her temporary badge in place she gets a few quick glances from folks who are watching the sellers with shrewd eyes.

"Anything you need taken off your hands quick?" one woman asks, tanned and thin, her face lined with wrinkles and a few scars, her clothing tidy leathers with neat embroideries of claws.

Coralian smiles warmly, hiding her suspicion.  "For a fair price, I'm happy to part with any of my wares quickly.  Are you looking to buy anything specific or just making general inquiries?"  She takes in the woman's posture, dress, and facial expressions, trusting that Ajax would be keeping an eye out for danger as well.

"Just seeing what you have.  You look like you're looking to make spending money for the festival, and I run a combined goods stall.  You get your money, I get to top off my stock without paying through the nose," she says.  "Any bones or feathers?  I can always sell those in a heartbeat for craft projects."

Aside from the merchant, you can see a few other people perusing Ajax and the potential goods he holds, along with the goods of your neighboring sellers.  You can spy what looks like a family with three young children, the oldest a girl of nearly twelve looking very excited and eager, two scientist-types with their long coats and sterile spray-wear, likely on break from one of the local labs, and a one man who's likely an osteon, with his colorful clothing and rattling bone charms.


--

Roam, as you linger at Nests and Nooks, you can see things are starting to gear up for a lively pre-festival party at the nearest taverns about a block or two away, the Vibrant Velociraptor (which seems to have fast music and dancing) and the Tousled Clam, which from passing conversation seems to specialize in exotic drinks.

From conversation between the various pens next to yours, you also learn that there are late sign-ups for various races and contests still open, and likely will be until after midnight, if you wish to enter any of them.

Down a pen or two from you, you see the occupants are what looks like a father, his teenage son, and three velociraptors probably just barely out of the baby fluff stage.  They're trying very hard to look fierce as the young man goes over their commands with them.  One of the babies, the largest of the lot, keeps posturing for Tarla, trying to rattle his feathers in what the cocky little beast clearly thinks is an alluring manner.

"I have mostly herbs and roots and some different saps I've collected.  I did manage to grab a few nice feathers, though."  Coralian's eyes dart from person to person, looking for interest and sticky fingers with equal diligence.  Her easy smile never falters.  Stopping about midway down Ajax's left side, she collects two handfuls of feathers.  They are from a wide variety of creatures, and thus an uncoordinated mass of colors, but they are all clean and in good shape.  "Would these suit your needs?" she asks the older woman.

At the Open Market

"Good, good, yes... I think I can do something with these.  Five nautils for the lot!" she says, holding back a smile.

"Any good healing plants?  Cooking plants?  Spiritual ones?" the osteon breaks in, trying to edge close enough to see what Ajax is carrying without making the ankly mad.

Coralian speaks over her shoulder to the osteon.  "Yes.  They're one of my specialties.  I'll be happy to show you as soon I'm done trading with this fine woman."

She turns back to the feather-seeker.  Gently stroking Ajax's head, she says to the woman, "Eight nautils.  And I have no doubts that a woman of your skills will bring triple that back for these fine adornments."  All the while, Coralian wears her winning smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:25, Sat 21 Sept 2019.

Roam started to walk about.  He looked back and forth at all the people and turned to Tarla.  He wrapped an arm around her neck and talked gently to her.  "I know, too many people.  The walk starts soon.  Then we will hopefully be away from this many people for awhile."

He patted Tarlas side and led her away.  He wasn't interested in betting on dinos(at least at the moment).  He just wanted some small distance for perspective and to watch the people without feeling smothered.

Open Market



The crafter haggles back and forth for a little bit more, cheerfully pointing out tiny imperfections, but settles on a solid 7 nautils, and tosses in a small sample of her work on a small bambiraptor feather hair clip.  "Tell them you got it from Luban's Lightwork!" she says, taking possession of her prizes.

As the crafter moves away, the osteon moves closer, repeating his questions about what types of herbs she has.  The father and daughter look over Ajax briefly, but the father shakes his head and says quietly, "She's not selling eggs or babies, looks like, so we'll head on to the next person."

--

Nests and Nooks

Roam can see quite a few people are getting the festival started early, with drinks, dancing and carousing.  There even seem to be some dinosaur dancers, but some of the little rogues are born attention-seekers.  There are also a great many people over at a dino-wash nearby, spraying their beasts down with river water and polishing and brushing them to get off road dust and mud.

Several people around here are practicing tricks for tomorrows contests, while others are fiddling with bits of tech for who knows what purposes.  One man in Nests and Nooks is fidgeting with something in a sack that makes a pinging noise, and he grimaces as he tries to silence the thing!

Coralian accepts the 7 nautils and immediately puts the clip in her hair.  "Thank you for your custom, ma'am, and the lovely clip."  To the receding father and daughter, she says, "I may have something to interest you, good people.  If you'll just give me a moment to speak to this fine healer, I'll be right with you."

Coralian sighs in her mind, concerned about the impatience of the osteon, but she smiles just the same as she lists off the plants she's harvested.  "I've got marrow-root, fever-leaf, dried proto-palm root, bark shavings from a break-leaf, barberry seeds, roots from Cornecae and Laureceae, as well as sap harvested from a number of conifers.  I've got a few mushroom caps as well, also dried."  There were other items in her harvest, as well, seasonings and the like, but she didn't expect he was wanting those.

Coralian keeps glancing at the osteon as he peruses her wares, making sure he is gentle at least and his hands are clean.  If the father and daughter turn to signal their interest, Coralian will pull the egg just slightly from her bag for just a moment, smile, and return her attention to her current customer.

The people rambled about.  Maybe it was just too hard to keep track of all the angles he could be hunted from.  Roam settled back and let his attention float across the crowds.  He hears the pinging noise, but lets the man wrestle with whatever it is.  On a hunt, you never want your prey to realize they have caught your attention until it is too late.
After the third ping Roam decides to say something.  He tries not to be loud, but he needs to talk over the sound of the crowds and beasts.  “Something the matter?  Did you need help with that?”  He slowly half turns to the man and tousled his own hair to appear young and non-threatening.  “I’m Roam.  Nice to meet ya!”

The Open Market



The osteon looks over everything in silence with a brooding expression, turning things over with one finger to look at their quality.  "Twelve nautils!  Or I'll do a bone reading and get you and a friend front-row tickets for the storytellings tomorrow night at the Pteradon Playhouse," he says abruptly, but with a smile on his face.

The girl looks excited as Coralian shows the glimpse of an egg, though the father looks a bit more concerned.  A large egg could be an expensive companion if you weren't prepared for it.

Once Coralian's business with the osteon is at a satisfactory end, the girl will bounce up to the front of the line.  "I get to pick out my own dinosaur!  What your dino's name?  He looks so strong!  What kind of egg is it?  Is your dino the parent?"

--

Nests and Nooks



The city is a chaotic morass with a lot of lines of potential attack.  Luckily most people here seem to be reasonably law-abiding and mostly focused on having fun.  As Roam poses his question to the frustrated man, he starts and what's-in-the-bag makes a short loud electronic squeal! that makes a nearby bambiraptor hiss in annoyance.

"Jass, and don't worry about it.  Stupid thing doesn't want to work.  Supposed to be an alarm," he says.  Then he lowers his voice, "I bloody well hate technology sometimes."

Coralian would haggle more over the cost of the herbs, etc.  She knows their worth.  She likely wouldn't accept less than 20 for the items he's looking at.  "And I'll take the nautils, thanks.  I'm not sure what my traveling companion's plans are yet."

Once done with him (sale or no sale), Coralian turns to the man and child.  She squats down to be eye-level with the girl.  "This is Ajax.  And he is not the daddy of this particular egg.  And he is quite strong.  I'm sure he would be pleased you noticed."  She pats the ankylo's head as she speaks.  Standing again, she pulls the egg fully from her garments.  "To the best of my understanding, this is the egg of a mini-bronto, one that had been kept in captivity until recently.  I happened upon her and the egg as she fell to predators.  Bad luck for her.  Maybe good luck for you."

The Open Market



The osteon seems to be fine with paying nautils, just in a hurry to be somewhere.  "Well, show's tomorrow night if you like a good set of yarns!" he says, handing over the little shells.



The little girl's eyes light up as Coralian describes the mini-bronto, and the father looks less worried, as a mini-bronto's needs are far less extensive than their original-sized kin.  When the egg comes into view, she exclaims, "It's cute!  Dad, please?.  It's just big enough for me to ride when it's grown, and it can pull the cart, too!"

The last seems to mollify the father somewhat, and he pulls out a small shell scanner, obviously repaired several times, but still functional.  "I'll need to check it...  What were you thinking of selling it for?" he says, the girl bouncing up and down excitedly beside him.  The scanner should give him a good view of the egg to see if the dino is viable, as well as being able to verify what you said about its species.  Also, it should be able to see any proprietary marks that might be covered by paint.

As the father pulls out a scanner, one of the passers-by shakes her head.  "That thing'll break when you need it most.  Not dependable, that stuff."  She nods at Coralian, as if inviting her to share her opinion.

"A good one from a reputable breeder's about 200, right?  Well, this is one's in good shape, but I can't verify the breeding.  I think 100 is fair.  Sounds like you'll get a lot of use out of it."  She squats down again to be on the same level as the girl.  "And it sounds like you'll have a lot of fun with it.  Have you picked out names yet?"

Eyeing the scanner a bit skeptically, Coralian asks if the man will let Ajax sniff the device before he uses it on the egg.  She trusts the big guy's sense of danger even more than her own.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:32, Tue 01 Oct 2019.

The Open Market




"Fern!  Or maybe Rocket!  Or Dad said that Fido was what my great-great-grandfather called his dog.  Whatever a dog is; he said it like an alphadon but with bigger ears and a smaller tail and fluffier, but it doesn't have feathers so it sounds kinda boring and you couldn't have ridden it," the girl says in one breath.

Ajax doesn't seem to find anything objectionable about the scanner, and the father employs it, running it over the egg at a distance of about three feet, squinting at the screen.  Finally, he nods.  "Looks healthy and viable.  Well, Channa if this one is what you want...?"  The little girl nods furiously, nearly vibrating out of her skin.  "Then 100 seems fair to me too."

The woman who'd made the comment about the scanner just snorts and moves on her way as the father digs out a rarity, a genuine SATI token wrapped in leaves.

--

Nests and Nooks

Jass comments further to Roam as he pokes at his "alarm".  "You look like an outdoors kind of guy, not like these lab-bound higher-ups all over here.  You think we need all this techy nonsense?  Just gets in the way and makes everything worse.  Never really works right, eh?"

"I'm very happy I could help you out.  I hope this little one grows up to be well-behaved, helpful, and a good mount for you, Channa," she says to the girl.  Coralian doesn't react to the SATI token.  As long as it spends, currency is currency, and she has seen them a few times before.  She passes the egg as she receives the token.  "I hope the rest of the Walk brings you as much luck as today."  Coralian hands the little girl the plasic blocks she'd gotten from the time anomoly earlier.  "These are for you.  Have fun with them.  Build a little bit."

After they've left Coralian tucks the token into a secure interior pocket.  No use tempting fate.  She's still got a few spices, saps, and food roots left after the osteon's purchases, and other assorted bits she's scavenged, so she'll remain in her spot a bit longer.  If she's able to sell out this morning, she'll be freer to enjoy the rest of the festivities and perhaps make some business connections.  She pats Ajax lovingly, hops atop his shell into a cross-legged seat, and keeps an eye out for wandering food vendors.  Sales can work up an appetite!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:33, Fri 04 Oct 2019.

Roam looks at Jass confused a moment.  "Well for better or worse, that's why we're all here.  I greatly prefer being out on the trails if I can help it.  What about you Jass?"  Roam kept scanning the people wandering through the area.  He checked on Tarla to make sure she wasn't about to eat the other inhabitants of the inn.
"Maybe we should walk a touch girl.  Idle hands and such."  He patted her snout and called to Jass.  "Back later.  See you man."

Leaving the odd man and looking for something better to do, Roam leaves Nests and Nooks, Tarla at his heels.  Keeping a careful eye out, he doesn't see anyone else from Haven in the crowd, which is perhaps all to the good.  He passes out of the inn and tavern district and into the commercial ones, which are still open.  Some even have electricity, a luxury in most places, but much more common in Kelanio.  Eventually his path takes him to the open market, where small-time merchants are selling whatever they could make or haul that doesn't demand the display space and patrolling of the main market that will open tomorrow.

Most of the folks here are looking for bargains ahead of the festival, unwilling to deal with the more established operations or crazy crush that will happen tomorrow.  There are virtually none of Kelanio's elite here; most of the shoppers and sight-seers are wearing clothes that have seen a lot of hard use and wear, some still thick with road dust.  Over to one side, you see Coralian and Ajax at a food stall, pondering over the choices.

One exception is a woman with short brown hair on a large struthiomimus, wearing brand-new SATI-issued black clothing, complete with zippers, bearing a bow on her back as she looks around eagerly.  Her dino steps hesitantly through the crowd, sometimes stumbling in the press of traffic.

As Roam and Tarla move through the crowd, they can hear a bit of a commotion up ahead, then some raised voices, and finally some screams!  The crowd begins to boil and scatter as you see two large hadrosaurs honking and dashing through the crowd, heedless of the people in their way!



"Thank you lady!  Thank you Ajax!" the girl says, and hugs the egg to her briefly before placing it in a backpack and carrying it very carefully.  Over the next hour or so Coralian can sell the rest of her items to various other travelers, mostly those who want to cook on their own and avoid the higher prices in the city.  With everything sold, she hunts for food, and soon finds a vendor with a cart who's selling deep-fried root vegetables and totorix cutlets, spiced and seared.  Whilst examining the choices, Coralian hears a commotion near her, and suddenly the crowd starts screaming and scattering as a pair of frightened hadrosaurs start running through the crowd, threatening to start a stampede!

Coralian, aware of the vulnerable masses around her, rushes atop Ajax as her mind frantically strategizes.  Grabbing straps to keep her balance, she shouts to her companion, "Run beside them!  Maybe we can calm them, or at least corral them away from the people."  She hangs on for dear life as Ajax takes off, thinking of any way to minimize the damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:47, Wed 09 Oct 2019.

Roam tensed as he felt the hurried footfalls impacting into the ground.  He turned quickly and saw the Hadrosaurs running down the street.  Screams started to fill the air and the smell of fear flooded every nose with the panic starting.
Off to the right was an area slightly less occupied than the others.  Roam turned urgently to Tarla, "Please, I need you to chase them over there.  I know you know how.  I also know the smell of everyone afraid is making you drunk and you want to eat them all.  Please Tarla, chase them over there so no one gets hurt."

Roam made eye contact with the raptor and pleaded with the creature.  Tarla just stood, looking at him.  She seemed locked in place, then swift as a thought she was moving and snapping at the Hadrosaurs to get them going where Roam had asked.
He sighed with relief.  You would think after all this time it would be easier to communicate with that raptor, but no.  She still made him pay for every request dearly.  In the end she almost always did what was right, but what happens when she didn't?

Tarla, after a touch of convincing, begins to run and nip at the hadrosaurs' heels.  Soon after Tarla moves, Ajax, Coralian on his back, begins to run beside them, using his bulk to put himself between the hadros and the better part of the crowd.  Between the two, they start to push the hadros over to one of the sparser areas of the market.  As they do, people run out of the way, hauling their children and chiding their dinos out of the path.  As one couple runs, however, their eager and loyal family-sized pteradon screeches and bates its wings, clearly trying to spook the hadros away from its humans!  The hadros snort and plunge, clearly caught in a moment of indecision between charging, fleeing, or fighting!

Coralian tries to get the hadrosaurs' attention to calm them down, but they are far too freaked out by the pteradon to notice.  Hoping to mitigate the potential damage, she directs Ajax to keep himself between the rampaging duo and the bulk of the bystanders.

Roam watched with a growing sense of unease as the Pteradon started squawking and flapping its wings menacingly to defend its humans.  Roam admired it, but knew this was not good for the situation.
How could he help defuse the situation?
Roam grabbed his camera and set the flash to high.  A couple closeups with a flash should dazzle it enough to get everyone out of the way.

Ajax continues to run, protecting most of the crowd with his body, though Coralian is unable to calm the hadros.  Roam uses the flash of the camera on the pteradon, which screeches and flaps skyward.  The hadros continue to plunge head until they reach the tall stone-and-synth panel walls, coming to a plunging, snorting halt, trumpeting out their frustration and anger at whatever had made them run.  The humans and dinosars keep a wide berth (some making the berth wider by the moment as they vacate the open market entirely) as the hadros still look agitated enough to run again at the slightest provocation.

Siezing the opportunity, now that the charging dinos are stopped and lacking a focus for their terror, Coralian again tries to calm them.  She holds a relaxed posture and makes quiet, gentle sounds.

Coralian comes in with soothing noises, calming gestures, and Ajax's solid presence.  They sway back and forth, make a few false starts, but between you, Ajax, Roam, and Tarla, you're able to corral them and get them to simmer down.  After a tense twenty minutes, the hadros flop down on the ground, exhausted by their panicked run.  Behind Coralian and Roam comes a few slow claps.  A grinning older man in the conservative spidersilk suit sometimes seen on SATI higher-ups puts his hands together one more time before stepping towards you both.  His head is shaved, his skin dark brown, he has neat white and pale blue tattoos across the base of his skull and down his neck, and bears a glimmer of rare circuitry down one sleeve.  A small black and white piski, a sort of miniature pteradon not much bigger than a few pounds, perches on his shoulder.

"A masterful display!  And so apt on the even of the Wild Walk.  I was going to call in the experts with tranq darts, but that wasn't needed.  Who are you, skilled strangers?" he asks, his voice deep and resonant.

Coralian looks slightly confused.  "Maybe we should ensure this pair is safely confined before we risk them getting spooked again?  Conversation can wait a bit."  Her voice is friendly, and just loud enough for the suited man to hear.

She nods to him before dismounting from Ajax. She resumes making soothing noises toward the hadrosaurs.  Assuming they're not skiddish, she'll even approach to stroke them and look for injuries (and maybe signs of what spooked them in the first place).

Roam ignored the man trying to congratulate them, for the time being.  He held his arms out to the Hadrosaurs and slowly calmly stepped toward them, one step at a time.  He breathed in slow and exhaled through his mouth just as slow.  Roam wanted the beasts to calm down with him.
Any little jitter and he just stopped moving and kept breathing for them to hear and calm.  His eyes never left them.

Out of the corner of his eye, watched Coralian approach them as well.  "What spooked them?  Did you see?"

"They were already charging when I saw them, and I didn't see anything behind them."  Coralian's voice is quiet and soothing, unrelated to the information she's providing.  Her attention doesn't waver from her efforts to calm the recently charging pair.

The hadros slowly calm down under Coralian's soothing.  While she doesn't see any obvious thing in their path that might have spooked them, it could have been something like an unexpected loud sound or unusual sight, though most dinos in Grevakc are habituated to a certain level of accommodation around people.  If a dino was skittish around the strange, the owner would have no reason to subject them to the Wild Walk.

"Of course, of course," the man says as Coralian deals with the dinos.

Roam approaches as well, Tarla at the ready, continuing the calming process.

They both discover something as they work on soothing the hadros.  Both have small, starburst-shaped burn marks, new ones, near their hindquarters.  These could be from electrical ammunition, cyphers, or what some drovers call "quikstiks", a kind of jumbo-sized cattle prod used to move large dinos.  But you generally don't see those outside of larger herding situations.

The man has sent his piski off while Roam and Coralian work, and eventually the dino flyer comes back.  Soon after come two men in SATI uniforms, bearing batons and lasers.  He speaks to them quietly and they disperse into the crowd to aid with the other guards who are trying to deal with the resultant chaos.

"Those two are going to see if they can find their owners.  Are those two calm enough that I can scan their DNA for ownership?" he asks.

When Coralian notices the fresh damage mark, she inconspicuously nudges Roam to bring his attention to it.  She frowns briefly.

After the man makes his request, she says, "If you must.  Ajax, watch your step around the man."  Something about this situation seems very ... artificial to Coralian.  She resists the urge to loosen her axe in its hip strap.  Either the SATI guards would be peacekeepers or they wouldn't.  Either way, her tool would make little difference.

The man takes a few steps closer to the hadros and rubs a finger over his eye, making it turn a brilliant blue.  He stares at the dinosaurs for a few moments, blinks twice, and his eye goes back to normal.  "Thank you.  I'll get that through the database and see if anything comes up.  Hopefully the owners will come back soon; the crowd might have swept them along.  I'm Zashran Sambre, at your service, paleogeneticist and bio-circuitrist.  Might I have the pleasure of your names?"

"I am Coralian Redfern.  Generally, I gather what I can from the forests to supply various villages and outposts.  I'm only in town for the Wild Walk."

With the continued calm of the hadrosaurs, Coralian feels comfortable looking around a bit more and taking in more of Zashran and the surroundings.

Roam looks at the others, then scans the crowd.  The sweat is beaded on his forehead, and slowly trickles down.  Finally satisfied that the situation was under control, he turned to the newcomer.  "I'm Roam Linden." 
Roam looked to verify Coralian and Ajax were unharmed.  Like him, they seemed fine for the exertion they underwent.  Tarla was just getting warmed up and feeling anxious to hunt.  Roam would have to take her out of the city soon.

Coralian, you see people slowly drifting back, some laughing a bit now that the danger is over.  People are picking up their stalls, while the presence of the SATI guards keeps the theft of loose articles to, well, a less-blatant level.  A few people have been bowled over in the crowd, others hurt in the crush, and it looks like everyone is either getting up or getting some kind of attention.  You see some people looking at your little group, but no one seems to be staring unduly, aside from one young woman wearing very bright and new SATI clothing, sitting astride a large struthiomimus and staring raptly at you both.

Zashran smiles as both rescuers introduce themselves.  "Coralian, Roam, it is good to meet you.  I have... a proposal, as it seems you are both people for whom the wild calls more strongly than most, and it's clear your ability with dinosaurs is skill well-earned and oft-experienced.  I have a colleague, one Ms. Lewis, who is an excellent bioengineer.  However, she has lived all her life in Kelanio, and truthfully the vast majority of it in the Salmon Center labs.  She has developed an interest in taking her experiments to the field, to observe the behavior of modified dinosaurs in the wild.  She even spent some time developing some skill with a bow before bombarding her supervisors with requests to get her into the wilderness.  I owe her a debt, so I promised I'd help her find some people to assist her in her research."

Zashran lowers his voice slightly and his expression becomes more serious.  "Ms. Lewis is an excellent researcher, but has a highly romanticized view of life outside Kelanio. Frankly, we'd hate to lose her in the labs, and dread to think of her out there, even with help.  I have interest in hiring you, if you'd be amenable.  I do want you to keep Ms. Lewis safe, but also... I want her miserable.  We'd rather see her have one uncomfortable experience than several increasingly risky ones.  If she wants to observe experiments in the wild, then that is what remote recording devices are for!  Please, would you be willing to give her a safe but brutally honest excursion into the 'deepest jungle' so she'll come back home quickly?  I would be willing to pay quite handsomely for your time and effort in this endeavor."

Coralian continues stroking the hadros to calm them, at least until their human partners arrive.  If anyone passes by with anything the dinos would eat, she'll grab it and feed it to them, tossing a few nautils back to whoever they came from.

To Zashran, she says, "I'm certainly willing to discuss hiring on as a guide.  I'd like to know more, of course.  Heading into the jungles unprepared is not a mistake I plan to make."

Roam narrowed his eyes.  “I don’t understand, there are still SATI stations that have not gone rogue or splintered off.  Why not just transfer her to one of these stations?  What is the goal here?  I have led a fair share of SATI people on hunts or guided them, this wouldn’t be anything special.....
He opened and closed his mouth several times, about to say something different each time.  Finally he shut up and just shrugged his shoulders.  Fine.

Zashran suddenly looks off into the distance, though from the peculiar cast to his eye, you realize he is probably looking at something through a datalink of some kind.  "Let us discuss things further when we're not standing on our feet amidst minor disasters.  My people found the hadros owners, and they're on their way."

Within a few minutes a frantic pair of young men come and chirp to the hadros. The dinos look up eagerly and stomp towards them, snuffling the young men and making the odd humming sound of their contentment.  "Where did you go, Eggy?  I didn't know the osteon's story was going to have special effects like that, I swear, or I would have been watching you sooner!  Don't scare me like that again!" one of them says, stroking the hadro with clear affection.  The other young man, likely a relative, perhaps a cousin, mutters meaningless soothing sounds as he greets his hadro with relief.

When asked, Eggy's owner will say, "We were watching an osteon do a storytelling, and there was a time terror in the story.  He used some flashpowder to make a really big bang and light flash for the effect, and then I think someone backed into Eggy at the same time.  He blundered right into Migs and they were off before we could stop them.  The crowd got so bad we couldn't see them and got separated.  Thank you for stopping them before they got hurt!"

As Coralian accepts the thanks of Eggy and his companion, she thanks her lucky stars that she wasn't at story time herself.  She still keeps a wary eye on the hadros, their newfound owners, and the businessman who 'just happened to come along at the right time'.

To Zashran, she says, "Where would you like to treat us to a meal so that we can negotiate and learn more?"

"Of course!" Zashran says, and bows a little, gesturing for them to follow him.  "Please, I know a lovely place for dinner."  He'll lead you to a fairly nice area closer to the labs, and stops at an open-air restaurant lit by powered light panels in fantastical shapes, augmented by carved woods in the shapes of strange animals.  The name over the entryway is "Jungle Book Cafe".  The fare seems to be rather old-fashioned food, the kind popular with Commuters: a noodle dish with a red savory fruit sauce and dino-meat balls, sweetened blitzed legume puree with berry compote on modified grain bread, ground dino-meat patties with hadrosaurus cheese on grain buns with vegetables, and so on.


After you have ordered your drinks (fizzy sweetened carbonated sodas, teas, still sweetened citrus water, or a kind of brewed, roasted bean drink that some people swear is "almost exactly unlike coffee"), Zashran is ready to address your concerns while you wait for your food to be prepared.



"Ah, that had been our first thought, to send her to another station, but she said something to the effect of, 'I'm just transferring one window view for another!' And I suggested a SATI hunt, but the goals of a hunt group and an experimental group are often at cross-purposes, at least for the research she wanted to do.  Miss Lewis is exceptionally talented, and I don't want to lose her to something preventable.  And if I don't find someone to guide her, she will likely find someone else, and I'm afraid her inexperience could lead her to make a poor choice.  Neither of you are on any SATI watchlist, as I know who's currently on them, and your skill and compassion in dealing with the runaway hadros shows you have the skills.  You're also not associated with SATI, so that is a bonus as far as Miss Lewis is concerned.  Now, I would think a trip of two weeks or so would be more than enough time for a safely uncomfortable trip, yes?" he says, spreading his hands to open negotiations.

Coralian chooses the noodle dish and fizzy drinks.  Might as well enjoy "civilization" while she's in it.

"Thank you for the meal, Zashran.  And as for the excursion, two weeks is easily managable, at least as far as my schedule.  I'm certainly willing to ... visit less comfortable locations, but I see no need intentionally make the suffering worse.  In my experience, most lab dwellers are more than ready to return to the other side of the walls after a week in the wilds.  Fleeing hungry therapods can provide that kind of motivation."

She lays her napkin across her lap and eats with her best manners.  Her parents took pains to ensure she knew some habits practiced more in the cities.

"My questions are around risk and reward.  By nature, the lands you want us to visit are dangerous.  It is entirely possible that harm might befall the good doctor in spite of all efforts to protect her, or befall us in our efforts to provide that safety.  To what extent are we responsible for her ultimate well-being?  And, given those risks, what kind of compensation are you offering?"

She takes another bite of sauce-covered meat and waits for a response.

"I understand there would be risks, and I am not asking you or Roam to put yourselves or your dinosaurs in undue danger.  And as for Dr. Lewis... There are no guarantees in Grevakc.  I would like her to be rescued if she falls behind in a dangerous place, steered from unambiguously lethally dangerous situations with people, dinosaurs, landscape, or weather, aided to the extent of your ability if she gets hurt.  I understand that if it is you or her, you are under no obligation to put yourself at extreme risk to save her life.  If the worst happens, I cannot blame you.  I will send a medical kit and small autodoc with you in case of injury, which you may use freely yourself as well.  I can offer you a free modification for your dinos, if you ever wanted a little extra armor, or implants, or something of the sort.  I can offer you a SATI token each and access to some spare gear that would be useful in your travels, armor, smart rope, spookeyes, three things each of your choice."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:25, Fri 22 Nov 2019.

Coralian continues to eat as the deal is laid out.  "Sounds quite fair so far.  Apart from the dangers we know, what other risks should we be aware of?  Things like Dr. Lewis's research or third parties interested in it.  Or ruining it.  Maybe there's someone who would like the opportunity to be rid of Dr. Lewis?  Or to acquire her for themselves?"

"Dr. Lewis' area of research is treatment of various genetic conditions through bio-engineered serums and retro-virals.  You can find that out through simple request at the Hall of Records, or casual gossip amongst any scientist from the Salmon Center.  She wants to locate dinosaurs with those conditions and test her treatments on them.  The potential value could certainly be of interest to outside parties, though as of yet Dr. Lewis has yet to publish her work, which gives her a bit of anonymity when it comes to the wider scientific community.  Breeders could be interested in her work, dino-wresters or their trainers as well, for good or ill.  While Dr. Lewis doesn't have any personal enemies that I'm aware of, the Butterflies do not hold with any advanced manipulation of technology and would seek to destroy her work.  The Edenites, however, would be far more likely to try to acquire her for themselves if they knew her work produced results.  I don't anticipate either group would be waiting at the gates to follow you, as Dr. Lewis' work is still in the experimental phase, but you asked me for a threat assessment, so..." Zashran spreads his hands.  "That would be the worst-case scenario, though I honestly expect your worst dangers would be trying to reign in her enthusiasm.  She is seeking dinos in need of her skills, the sickly, the weak, the runts, so there could be a danger of carnivores come to feed on them.  But I am confident you know how to avoid, hide, or when to run from them!"

OOC: Once I get back to my books I can give you a short run-down on stuff available.

"I'm with you so far."

"So, the festival ends in a week, so I can get things together for you by then.  Dr. Lewis will undoubtedly want to meet you and go over all of her wonderful ideas for her research...  You can steer her towards a suitable location, as she only knows the various ranges through reports rather than experience.  Tomorrow morning I can arrange a meeting, if you're both amenable.  What say you?" Zashran says, looking eager in between moments where he seems to be scanning something in the middle distance.

"If you can cover accommodations while we're here, that schedule will work for me.  I don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so meeting Dr. Lewis would be fine."

Coralian picks up on Zashran's distracted focus but doesn't draw attention to it.  She tries to use her read of his behavior, the other patrons, and available reflective surfaces to figure out what he keeps looking at (or for).

"I believe I can do that.  There's some room in the lab barracks... though what I am I thinking, that won't be suitable at all.  Ah!  I know, I have some guest vouchers for the Lunar Landing Lodge, and goodness knows I haven't had to use them in years, so you can use them.  It's a bit of a tourist trap, but it's very comfortable," he says, flicking his eyes up again.  "How about ten am?  Outside the Salmon Center?"

OOC: Zashran doesn't seem to be lying about this job or the vouchers.  His constant distraction could be from checking a datalink - if he has an implant in his eye or head, he could be scanning information unseen to you.  He seems eager for you to accept.

"10 a.m. tomorrow is fine.  I'll reserve judgment on the lodge until I can see it, if that's ok with you."  She holds out her hand for the vouchers unless Roam decides to intrude.

Roam stopped starring off into orbit and refocused on Coralian and Zashran.  He listened intently to what Zashran offered and Coralian’s negotiations.  It all seemed fine.  It seemed like a standard guide job when you didn’t like the people you were leading about.
The Lunar Landing Lodge?  Ok, he nodded.  Sati token, sure.

“This can be accommodated.  10 am works for me.”

Couldn’t this actually increase the value of her research and help the dinosaurs?  Why didn’t he care if she actually succeeded?

"Marvelous!  Dr. Lewis will be thrilled, I'm certain.  Thank you for talking with me." Zashran gets up, pays the bill, hands you both a small shard-card with the location of the hotel on it and a SATI stamp, and finally leaves with a friendly nod.

The Lunar Landing Lodge is a very retro location, clearly built during the commuting era as a sort of tourist trap.  It harkens back to the age of initial space exploration, with faded pictures of lunar landings, and imitation space equipment as decor and furniture.  The place is comfortably appointed though, and is in desirable proximity to the central part of Kelanio.

The night passes quietly, and the day dawns with the screeches and trumpeting of various pteradons as they greet the day, along with the chirps and bellows from other dinos as they are getting ready for the day's big parade.  There are several excited guests of various SATI higher-ups staying at the Lodge, dressing themselves and their designer dinos (most of them of small, cute, with genetically modified scales or coats with interesting colors and patterns) in their finest arrays.

Outside there are some people who are heading towards the parade route with their decorated dinos, a few osteons who are giving readings of the bones for those who want to know how their day or year will go ("The future lies in the bones, a cast of what is to come so you can prepare!"), or who want to hear the latest news ("Major time terror at the edge of the Redjaw Wilds, and a party sent to investigate has not yet returned.  Selbian Dross is running for Lead Counselor unopposed, but has considerable resistance from several unions in town.  Three deaths reported by an attack by riverbank pirates on the far side of the Totorix Run with a reward for a captured barge..."), and a slender woman with dark brown hair that goes to her shoulders, wearing brand new SATI-issued clothing, neat and clean.  It even has zippers!  At her side is a tall struthiomimus who is soliciting scratches from her and anyone else who looks at him too long.

The 'mimus is familiar, the woman too.  It's Doctor Kerensa Lewis.

Coralian is prepared for parade day, even if the event itself holds only a passing interest for her.  Since there are no plans for travel at the moment, she wears the fashionable ensemble she reserves for special occasions.  It's a long skirt with intricate patterns in blue, red, and green, with overlaps at the split in the front and back, so if she needs to ride Ajax, she can.  Paired with a white blouse and emerald silk scarf, she could pass for a wealthy merchant on feast day.  Light shoes, not designed for jungle walking, and a carved ivory hair pin complete the look.

"Dr. Lewis?  I'm Coralian Redfern, and this is Ajax.  Zashran has hired us to help guide you for your expedition."  The ankylo bobs his head a couple times at the doctor and her mount as he stands beside Coralian.

Dr. Lewis is suddenly all smiles, appearing rather winsome, as Coralian introduces herself and Ajax.

"Oh hello!  And thank you so much!  I know I was supposed to wait until later to meet you, but I was just so excited!"  The 'mimus pokes his head into the conversation, lifting his for a scratch.  "Foozle!  Don't be a pain!  Sorry, this is Foozle, and if you scratch him forever you'll have a friend for life.  Hi, Ajax?  Who's a lovely anklo in the seventy-fifth percentile of his mature growth age group?  You are!"  She'll give Ajax some gentle rubs around the eyes, if Coralian indicates it's all right.

"Oh yes, Zashran, or, um, Dr. Keelo, he's my supervisor.  I've been trying to get out into the field forever, and he finally let me once he saw you two handle those runaway hadros!  It was so lucky you were there!  But yes, I've been practicing, and I've gotten very good with my bow here, so I don't have to worry about any power packs running down or anything.  I'm really good with lab equipment, but less good with power packs, so I didn't want to be bringing anything along that was going to break that I couldn't fix.  Oh!  I'm going to go quick to a feather-painter to get Foozle dolled up for the parade.  Would you like to go to a scale painter?  My treat!"
This message was last updated by the GM at 03:23, Sat 28 Dec 2019.

Coralian shows no objection to Karensa's attention to Ajax.  Her eyes do go a bit wide at extent of her speech.

"Dr. Keelo didn't mention his credentials when we spoke.  And thanks for the painting offer, but I think we'll decline.  I prefer to observe the decorations rather than wear them.  And I don't want the smell of any paint to give us away once we're back in the wilds."

Kerensa laughs a little.  "Oh, Dr. Keelo doesn't like everyone to know who he is.  Grandson of one of the SATI higher-ups, so he doesn't want people asking him about the board and politics and all, or he'd never get any work done.  He says that all the time.  Want to come with me to the feather-painter while we talk if you're free?  I have all sorts of questions about our trip!  I'm looking to get some real data on correcting genetic anomalies by introducing corrective gene therapies via serums, which is why I took up the bow.  Easier to tag the dinos that way, and then I'll have the trackers in there too so I can get results, but I'll have a much bigger pool that hasn't been purebred so the results will hopefully be more accurate, but I really shouldn't have any preconceptions.  Bad for science, that's what my dad says!  Where do you think would be the best to go?  I've really been looking for cases of feather-fall and claw rot, but I also have serums for hemoglobin anomalies and solar sensitivity.  I need someplace pretty clear of labs, so that most of the specimens are unmodified..."

Dr. Lewis continues as she walks (if Coralian doesn't mind), waiting in line at a feather-painter who is doing quick, broad paint jobs to add a splash of color for those who don't have the time, patience, or deep pockets of those who wanted more elaborate jobs (or for those who dinos won't sit still long enough for anything fancy).

Coralian (and Ajax) follow along as Dr. Lewis continues.  She occasionally tries to get in an observation or question.

"Those must be very expensive arrowheads.  How many do you have?"

"Claw rot?  So we're looking for regions I might normally avoid to project my buddy here.  I'll have to make sure I pick up the right roots for a salve on the way.  I don't know where to look for that hemo-stuff, though."

"Oh!  A lot of the solar sensitivities and hemo-anomalies manfests itself in albanism and vitiligo and unusual living under heavy cover or underground, so we're looking for white-ish or white-spotted dinos who are living in caves or really thick tree cover, likely anomalous for the species.  And I can give Ajax a claw-rot vaccine before we go - you get those more in contaminated boggy areas anyhow," Dr. Lewis says as Foozle leans into the painter's brush.

"Albino and white spotted, I've seen, but they're few and far between."  Coralian tries to think of one (or more) areas she's traveled in that might have higher concentrations of these.

"Thanks for the vaccine offer.  Are there any side effects or other risks?"

The last time Coralian had seen more than one or two spotted or albinos at a time had been at a rocky area well north of Kelanio, past a stretch of wasteland known as the Sea of Tranquility (a reference that some commuters seem to find hilarious and most younger folk don't see the amusement in).  A rough, dry area of rugged land, it ends in a small mountain range that butts up against lusher forests.  It's known for spectacular rock formations, a few very small communities that keep very much to themselves, and as being a hide-out for people who don't want to be found.  And that's not even counting the aggressive pteradons, or the wild storms that can flood ditches in moments, turning them to raging rivers.

"Oh, the vaccine might make him itchy for a couple of days, but most handle it without any problems whatsoever!" Dr. Lewis says.  Foozle now painted, she leads him towards the parade.  Ahead there is a blare of sound and a muffled announcement from a public address system.  While not terribly clear at this distance, the gist is, "Let us celebrate our dinosaurs!"  With a great deal more colorful and flower language, of course.

The end of the parade sways slowly through the crowd, people cheering even as the celebration gets into full swing.  Fried foods and interesting drinks are the order of the day, and banners of favored dinos (often dino-wrestling champions, racing champions, or particularly unusual beauties) are being waved at by their fans.  The parade weaves through the town until it ends at the large central square near the SATI labs.  The swirl of dinos and people scatter slightly, some settling down for seeing the sights, some heading off to races and competitions, others going to hear osteons tell stories and news.  Many head to booths to buy accessories for their dinos, or to look at young dinos for sale (both newly bred designer ones and ones from various rescue groups).

Dr. Lewis looks enchanted by everything, but manages to shake herself loose and look at Coralian and Roam.  "So, what else do you think I'd need for the trip?  I have rope and extra clothes, water filtration and extra lights, a tent and some tools.  My labkit, of course.  My weapons and armor.  What else do I need?"

"More water, maybe an atmospheric collector.  Tradegoods.  Gifts for the locals.  Simple things like cloth or tools, not something that can be poisoned.  No weapons, either.  Maybe a couple of alarms."

Coralian describes the location she's remembered to see if it fits Dr. Lewis's needs and whether she thinks it's worth the risk.

Kerensa nods enthusiastically, noting things down on a small pad.  "That place sounds wonderful!  I can't wait to see it!  Water and atmospheric collector, good, good.  Tradegoods!  I hadn't thought of that.  Cloth, cloth, I can probably get some cloth here, and I've got lots of tools around I can get, no problem!  Alarms... I'll see what's available.  Oh, and food!  Ration packs, I can get those.  I'll be all ready by day after tomorrow, you'll see!  I'm so excited!"

She nearly skips away, she's so enthusiastic, taking Foozle with her to poke his nose in various establishments.

Roam and Coralian can spend the next day or so doing whatever other preparations they want to make, while Zashran will send them a message asking them what items they want from the company stores.  The SATI token will be given upon the completion, as will any modifications to yourselves or your dinosaurs that you want.

The nights in the Lunar Landing Lodge are pleasant enough, if the touristy company gets a little rowdy at times.  But on the appointed day, Dr. Lewis is waiting at the door after breakfast.  Foozle is pulling a small, modified cart that's piled almost comically high with supplies.  Dr. Lewis stands next to it, a rain cloak over her arm and her bow slung on her back.

"Good morning!  I think I got everything, because I checked the list a dozen times!  How long will it take to get to the dry lands?"

"Four long days of fast walking or riding, assuming we don't run into complications.  Five days if we take our time and live off the land a bit to stretch our rations."

Coralian would have spent the days sight seeing with Ajax and looking for durable tools and cloth to buy.  These would be either for her own use or to help out the family farm.  They might be for trade, but that's not their most likely use.

Roam strutted up toward Coralian and her companion.

"Sorry I'm late.  It was not exactly easy making sure Tarla doesn't eat every little dino crossing her path on parade day.  I'm Roam.  I presume you would be the one that Zashran offered us a job assisting on your research trip?"

Roam held out his hand and shook when Kerensa introduced herself.  Roam nodded to Coralian and took a spot near them.

"Sorry I missed out on the details of what you were discussing.  I apologize, any chance for an abbreviated recap?"

"Dr. Lewis wants to do field testing on dinosaurs with skin conditions like albinism.  The best place I know to find those is in the dry lands to the northeast.  As far as I can tell this will meet all the mission criteria we've been asked about so far."